Michigan hoping for breakthrough

Rival Ohio State has dominated Wolverines

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jim Harbaugh shook up his coaching staff and whipped himself into shape as if he was still playing quarterback after his opportunity to coach at his alma mater was extended last winter by at least another season.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, a former teammate of Harbaugh’s under the late Bo Schembechler, signed Harbaugh to a new deal that slashed his guaranteed pay with what is essentially a yearto-year contract in a move that fell somewhere between extending and firing him.

Harbaugh responded shortly thereafter by bringing in new defensive coordinator Mike Maconald to replace Don Brown. He recruited a pair of young and dynamic former Wolverines, Mike Hart and Ron Bellamy, to join the new-look coaching staff. He even changed the name of the team’s 9-on-7 drill to Beat Ohio St. at the start of spring drills, trying to toughen up his players while sharpening their focus on the rival Buckeyes.

So far, it has seemed to work because the Wolverines (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) are ranked sixth in the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings. Ohio State is No. 2 in the AP poll and fourth in the CFP.

Harbaugh, perhaps more than anyone, desperately hopes the many changes he made helps Michigan finally beat Ohio State on Saturday at the Big House. He seems to have a chance to win in the rivalry for the first time as a coach, but the Buckeyes (10-1, 8-0) are favored to win by more than a touchdown, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

The spread is relatively respectable in a suddenly lopsided series that has seen Ohio State win a school-record eight straight games and 15 of 16. Keeping it close won’t cut it for Harbaugh, whose tenure as a coach at Michigan has been long on hype and short on significant wins.

“Both teams have a lot on the line,” Harbaugh said Monday. “It’s a true playoff in that sense. In the College Football Playoff world, this is the start of the playoffs.

“The team that wins will advance. The team that doesn’t won’t. It is that, and it’s also the big game, The Game, the rivalry.”

The victors will win the Big Ten East Division, earning a spot in the conference’s championship game and a solid shot at making the College Football Playoff.

Even if the Buckeyes win by multiple touchdowns, Harbaugh will most likely keep his job. Another setback, though, would haunt him for many months and lead to more doubts that he can ever restore college football’s winningest program to championship contender.

Last summer at Big Ten media days, he set his public sights on winning the conference championship — the school’s first since 2004 — and beating rivals Ohio State and Michigan State.

“We’re going to do it or die trying,” Harbaugh said in July.

Despite a 37-33 loss to then-No. 8 Michigan State last month that dropped Harbaugh to 3-4 in the instate rivalry, the Wolverines are a win away from advancing to the Big Ten championship game for the first time. Harbaugh briefly reflected on his do-or-die comments.

“It comes all the way to life,” he said. “It’s here. It’s happening.”

The Game did not happen last season for the first time in 102 years, a casualty of a COVID-19 outbreak within Michigan’s program that ended its season prematurely with an embarrassing 2-4 record.

NEBRASKA: Quarterback Adrian Martinez will miss the Cornhuskers’ season finale against Iowa because of a shoulder injury, coach Scott Frost announced Monday.

Frost said redshirt freshman Logan Smothers would start Friday against the 17th-ranked Hawkeyes.

Martinez’s right (throwing) shoulder was hurt in the first half against Wisconsin on Saturday when he was hit by a defender as he threw a pass in the first half. He was able to finish the game.

UMASS: UMass is bringing back Don Brown as head coach in the hopes that the struggling football program can return to the time of its greatest success.

Brown led the Minutemen to a 43-19 record in the Football Championship Subdivision from 2004-08. Since moving up to the FBS in 2012, UMass has gone 20-91 and never had a winning season. UMass (1-10) finishes the 2021 season at New Mexico State (1-10) on Saturday.