Jim Harbaugh Names Michigan’s Four Goals for Upcoming Season

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh spelled out his goals for the 2022 season on Tuesday—and it’s safe to say the 58-year-old has big ones. 

At Big Ten Media Days, the Wolverines coach said his four goals for the upcoming season are to “beat Ohio State [and] Michigan State in the same year, win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship.” 

In 2021, Michigan achieved two of those goals. The Wolverines beat Ohio State in a 42–27 win en route to a Big Ten Championship victory over Iowa. The team, however, did lose to Michigan State, their only loss of the regular season. The selection committee picked Michigan as the No. 2 seed in the playoff, though it lost to future College Football Playoff champion Georgia in the semifinal at the Orange Bowl. 

A quarterback battle is brewing in Ann Arbor as Harbaugh will look to pick the signal caller who has the best chance of leading the Wolverines to their four goals. Quarterback Cade McNamara returns after a season that saw him start all 14 games and throw 210 passes for 2,576 yards on 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. J.J. McCarthy returns for his sophomore campaign after appearing in 11 games last season, throwing for 516 yards on 34 completions and five touchdowns. 

In June, the head coach said the battle would be “competitive.” On Tuesday, he reiterated that sentiment and said the criteria he is looking for in his starting quarterback is the player who plays “the best,” how many times the QB leads the team to a touchdown and who has the best playmaking ability, per Anthony Broome of On3.

The Wolverines will open their schedule against Colorado State on Sept. 3, hoping to reach all their goals and finally get their hands on a national championship trophy—something the team hasn’t held since 1997. 

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