There’s a trust factor involved between a quarterback and his coach, and it even gets ratcheted up a notch when the coach is a former quarterback himself.

That’s the situation we have with Michigan quarterback coach Shea Patterson, and his coach, Jim Harbaugh. Five weeks into the season, it’s been interesting — and very entertaining — to see their relationship grow.

From the time Patterson arrived in Ann Arbor after transferring from Ole Miss — and getting a hall pass from the NCAA to not have to sit out a year — he’s been viewed as something of a savior. The most obvious part of Michigan’s program that’s been lacking during Harbaugh’s three-plus years there is quality quarterback play, and Patterson’s arrival was supposed to signal the end of that frustration.

But in Patterson’s first game, in a tough environment at Notre Dame, he came up short. It wasn’t all his fault. In fact, a little of the blame could go his way, but not much.

The reins weren’t off yet.

On critical third downs early in that game, when Notre Dame was jumping out to a 14-0 lead that Michigan could never fully recover from, Harbaugh chose to run the ball on key third downs and drives ended. The one time he dropped back on third down, he was quickly sacked, not getting a chance to throw. Another drive stopped without a Patterson pass.

Flash forward four weeks to last Saturday’s game at Northwestern. Michigan was trying to overcome another early deficit, and midway through the fourth quarter, they still trailed, losing 17-13.

This time, it was different. This time, Harbaugh told Patterson to go win this game.

And that’s exactly what he did.

On the final 11-play, 67-yard drive that lasted nearly six minutes, Patterson was perfect. He completed all three of his passes for 44 yards, which were all big. But the huge play that came on third-and-6 was when Patterson ran for 9 yards to keep the drive alive. Karan Higdon scored three players later and the Wolverines had their big road win.

Harbaugh’s thoughts on Patterson?

“A-plus, plus,” he said. “He really stepped up big and took the game into his hands in a lot of ways in the second half.”

It was a bit of a defining moment for this team, because they really needed this win. They need them all, quite frankly, because their goal of winning the Big Ten probably doesn’t include any margin of error. That Patterson took the reins — and Harbaugh trusted him to win this game with his arm and his legs — says a lot about this team going forward.

There’s going to come a time when Patterson will have to step up big-time again. He’s proven he can do it, and he struts around with all the confidence in the world that he can do it again.

It’s a rare thing to see a quarterback with the clutch gene, taking on all comers and making plays happen at the most trying of times. We saw that out of Patterson on Saturday, and we’re sure to see it again. We know it, and now Harbaugh knows it, too. He knows he can count on Patterson, especially when he gets enough protection to have time to throw.

That maturation of Patterson over the span of a few weeks has been nice to see. The previews have been nice. And the features to come? They’ll be nice, too.