Big Ten Daily (Jan. 25): Jim Harbaugh Bails on the Victors
The Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan has officially come to an end. After nine seasons in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh decided to leave his alma mater and chase a Super Bowl ring, agreeing to a deal with the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news on Wednesday.
It's a move everyone saw coming, right? Harbaugh has had several flirtations with the NFL since his arrival at Michigan in 2015. This year, he finally accomplished what he set out to do, bringing a national championship trophy back to Schembechler Hall.
Harbaugh is departing from Michigan after returning the program to national prominence. In the last three seasons, the Wolverines have posted a 40-3 record. They won three straight games over Ohio State, three consecutive Big Ten championships and went 15-0 on their way to a national title this past year.
For many reasons, now feels like the perfect time for Harbaugh to pursue that Super Bowl ring. But there's another side to this coin, one that feels like he's bailing on the victors.
The NCAA hit Michigan with a Notice of Allegations in December over alleged recruiting violations. Per ESPN, Harbaugh "faces a Level I violation for allegedly not cooperating with or misleading NCAA investigators about the alleged violations, and Michigan also faces four Level II violations, which are considered less serious."
During the 2023 season, Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension on Harbaugh over the alleged recruiting violations. He missed the first three games of the year. But it wasn't the only punishment he faced.
Later, the Big Ten slapped Harbaugh with a three-game suspension for his lack of control over the program amidst a sign-stealing scandal involving staff members. He missed the final three regular season contests against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State.
It's understandable why Harbaugh would want to leave Ann Arbor. There's a good chance the NCAA hands down a harsher punishment to Michigan after the investigation into recruiting violations concludes.
So what's going to happen? In all likelihood, Michigan will bear the brunt of the punishment if the NCAA sees fit. Harbaugh, on the other hand, will be standing on an NFL sideline without having to deal with the consequences.
Feels a little like Pete Carroll's departure from USC over a decade ago, doesn't it?
Yes, Harbaugh should be celebrated for all he accomplished during his nine seasons at Michigan. He delivered on the sky-high expectations laid out when he took the job in 2015. That's not an easy thing to do.
For Harbaugh, it probably feels like the right time to return to the NFL. Turns out, it's also a pretty convenient time to leave Ann Arbor.
Northwestern gets revenge on Illinois
Welcome back to the Big Ten fight, Northwestern. The Wildcats might've been written off following a 96-66 loss to Illinois in Champaign earlier this month, but they're back in the conversation following Wednesday night's victory.
Boo Buie scored 29 points and hit several clutch shots, leading Northwestern to a 96-91 overtime victory over the Fighting Illini at Welsh-Ryan Arena. It marked the first time since 1956 that the Wildcats defeated an Illinois team ranked in the top-10.
It was also the second time this season the 'Cats defeated a top-10 squad on their home court, taking down No. 1 Purdue in overtime back in December.
"I just thought we fought better. Wee got really beat up and bullied the first game. I thought we stood up to that tonight with our toughness," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "We had a real balanced attack. They pride themselves on mismatches in how they play, I thought we had some mismatches, too. We tried to exploit those in our favor."
Brooks Barnhizer also had a tremendous performance, scoring 23 points and knocking down four-of-six shots from 3-point range. Ty Berry pitched in 14 and Matthew Nicholson added 12.
Northwestern improved to 5-3 in Big Ten play with the win over Illinois. They're now tied with the Fighting Illini at third in the conference standings, sitting two games behind Wisconsin (7-1).
Jahmir Young's late-game heroics
Here's a tip for teams trying to defend Maryland's Jahmir Young: Don't let him get to his left. Iowa was unable to prevent that from happening Wednesday night, allowing the guard to get a game-winning layup with less than two seconds to play.
With the game tied at 67 with less than 30 seconds to play, the Terrapins whittled the clock down to five seconds before Young went to work. The Hawkeyes essentially cleared a path for the Maryland star, who got to the basket without much of an issue.
Young made the layup and put Maryland ahead 69-67 with less than two seconds to play. Iowa then threw up a desperation heave that fell way short of the basket.
Young put together a show in the final 90 seconds, scoring eight of his 22 points in that stretch. When the game is on the line, he's one of the best players in the league.
Although Maryland isn't known for its road success, it has put together two impressive victories outside of College Park in the past two weeks. On Jan. 14, the Terrapins walked into Champaign and defeated No. 10 Illinois 76-67.
Young was a star in that game, too, scoring 28 points.
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