Five straight losses to Ohio State has some wondering about Jim Harbaugh’s future at Michigan. If the once-anointed savior of the Wolverines can’t beat the Buckeyes, is it time to start thinking about bringing someone else in?

This year, that question has been dismissed. This year’s Ohio State team is playing at a ridiculously high level, defeating everyone on the schedule by double figures and winning 11 of 12 games by 24 points or more. Still, the fact that Harbaugh is 0-5 — the first coach on either side to start that way — is a bit concerning to some.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit understands the frustration, but doesn’t believe a change needs to be made in Ann Arbor. Right now, Herbstreit says Harbaugh just needs to take a different approach to the game.

“When you lose the way that you’re losing five straight to Ohio State, it can take the soul of a program out,” Herbstreit said on the College Football Podcast with Herbstreit and Pollack. “The challenge for Jim and that program is to put that rivalry in its proper perspective, instead of shaking it off. ‘Hey, we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to recruit better.’ I think it’s not that. It’s so much deeper than that. I keep hearing comments from Ohio State players and coaches where it’s like this rivalry means so much to us. It doesn’t mean something to us this week. We don’t just have this clock running down so the fans can say, ‘Oh look , there’s a clock over there.’ They live it. They do reps in the weight room in February about it. It’s around every room at Ohio State. It’s not for recruiting, and it’s not just to have it.”

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields said in his postgame interview that he believes the Buckeyes take The Game more seriously than the Wolverines. So, if Fields sees that as a first-year player, Herbstreit’s assessment is probably fair.

But Herbstreit still doesn’t believe that warrants Harbaugh’s firing.

“The idea of firing him is ridiculous,” Herbstreit said. “Who are you going to bring in that has a better feel for what Michigan is about? I think Jim Harbaugh has to be willing to change who he is. I think he tried that with his offense over the last couple of years. Bringing in Shea Patterson. Trying to get more spread. Trying to kind of catch up with the way everyone is running is running offenses these days. I don’t know that their offense is the problem. Shea Patterson and those receivers, they’re pretty good. I think the issue is clearly the defense. Don Brown has done such a good job in most games they’ve played. They get into that Ohio State game, and the Buckeyes have a plan. They’re just one step ahead.”

Michigan finished the 2019 season with a 9-3 record and a chance to get a 10th win for the fourth time in five seasons with a bowl victory. We’ll find out where the Wolverines are headed on Sunday.