Big Ten Daily (Nov. 16): Can Jim Harbaugh Survive at Michigan?

Only in 2020 can Indiana, the Power 5 school that's lost more college football games than anyone, sit atop the Big Ten standings and Michigan, the school that's won more games than anyone in the history of the sport, look like they've never played the game before.

After two ugly losses to Michigan State and Indiana, the Wolverines were horrific on Saturday night on national TV against Wisconsin. They got pounded 49-11, and looked overmatched and disinterested from start to finish. They trailed 28-0 at halftime, something that's never happened in the long and storied history of the Big House.

Brandon Brown, my colleague at Wolverine Digest on our Sports Illustrated platform, summed up Saturday night's disaster perfectly:

"The Wolverines looked dead, deflated, flat and bored as they ran out to touch the banner before the game. It got worse once the action started. Wisconsin marched up and down the field scoring touchdowns on its first four drives, while Michigan eked out one single yard in the first quarter. The Wolverines made a habit out of going three and out and turning the ball over, while Wisconsin methodically moved down the field against Don Brown's unit. In fact, per ESPN at halftime, Michigan's defense recorded zero sacks and forced zero turnovers in their last five halves of football. They're the first Big Ten team over the last 15 seasons to not record a sack or a takeaway in five consecutive halves.''

Harbaugh was brought home six years ago to help restore the glory at his alma mater. The Wolverines had been struggling under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke and hadn't won a Big Ten title since 2004. Harbaugh was supposed to change that.

The problem, though, is that first he hasn't been able to get past arch-rival Ohio State. They he struggled to beat "little brother" Michigan State and now he's reached the point where they can't beat anyone.

Michigan football is a mess right now and the fan base, which had been growing weary of Harbaugh BEFORE this season started, is in downright revolt mode now. As a collective — and this fan base is a massive collective — they're done with this experience and are ready for a change.

Quite simply, they wan't EVERYONE fired, including Harbaugh, their Golden Boy.

"We're not in a good place as a football team right now, and that falls on me," Harbaugh said after Saturday's debacle. "We've got to get back to going back to basics in everything that we do and look at everything that we're doing. Everybody's got to do better. I'm at the front of the line in the accountability."

No kidding, the fan base says.

"It can only be those three things: what you're doing, how you're doing it, who's doing it," the sixth-year Michigan coach said. "We've got to look at all those things right now. Right now, I'd say all three need to be addressed."

Harbaugh is taking full responsibility for the collapse. No one is disagreeing.

"The thing that stands out the most is the coaching, making sure that [the players] have an understanding of what to do and, therefore, they can go for it," Harbaugh said. "Because there seems to be hesitation, there seems to be some confusion, some lack of communication on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively, and getting things adjusted to, getting things fixed, just identifying how to improve in those areas are some of the first things that we're going to address."

Harbaugh is exactly right. Coordinators Josh Gaddis and Don Brown have been horrible, too. It's a meltdown from start to finish. There are also zero signs of hope, which might be the most disappointing things of all to Michigan fans.

The rest of the league, of course, isn't reaching out in sympathy. In fact, most everyone is sort of enjoying this self-destruction.

Right? Right.

It just might be time for Harbaugh to waddle back to the NFL. There would certainly be interest — Chicago maybe? — and he could leave Michigan without the ugliness of having to fire him. An exit without bloodshed might be good for everyone. But the coordinators Gaddis and Brown need to go, too. They've both certainly worn out their welcomes.

Who would have ever imagined it would end this way?

Not using COVID as an excuse

Two of the three Big Ten teams that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic didn't miss a beat last weekend and came away with big wins.

Wisconsin, which went nearly three weeks without being able to practice, looked like a well-oiled machine in the win against Michigan and Illinois, who's been missed more than dozen players, pulled out a great win at Rutgers on a last-second field goal by kicker James McCourt, who had missed the past two games because of COVID contact tracing protocols

“It’s been a long time since we’ve felt a win,” Illinois coach Lovie Smith said. “When you talk to the team and you can call on that kind of experience, it helps. We were down by 10 on the road today and a lot of things were going against us. These guys just kept fighting and refused to lose.”

For Wisconsin's Paul Chryst, the largest margin of victory ever over Michigan was a sight to behold. Wisconsin rushed for 341 yards and had four different players gained 65 yards or more on the ground.

"I’m really proud of the way that everyone worked through what we have gone through," Chryst said. "It was great to get back.A lot of guys contributed and that is what we thought coming in, that it was going to take everyone’s effort."

Maryland, the third team to be affected by COVID, was forced to cancel its game with Ohio State last weekend. The Terps are supposed to play at home against Michigan State this weekend, and we'll know later today about the status of that game.

“We knew heading into this adjusted season that there could be hiccups along the way,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said from a hotel where the team is quarantining in separate rooms. “Much how we’ve addressed and managed working through these things during the 2020 season, we wake up and we deal with the rules that we’re given for that day. The cases are going up across the country, and so our football program is a microcosm of just that.”

End of the line for Sean Clifford?

Penn State has benefited from steady quarterback play throughout James Franklin's coaching career, but the complete meltdown in Sean Clifford's game is hard to explain. He had a fumble and an interception early in the Nittany Lions' loss at Nebraska, and Franklin had to bench him for Will Levis.

Penn State, now a stunning 0-4 after starting the season ranked No. 8 in the country, never saw this coming. Now, what to do going forward? Franklin has never had to experience this before.

"Where we were at in that game, again with turnovers and with what's going on this season so far, we had to make that change," Franklin said. 'We're not going to name a starting quarterback right after a game before discussing it as a staff and before evaluating the tape. Obviously, that'll be a discussion all week long, and I know we'll talk about it a little later in the week."

Not using COVID as an excuse

End of the line for Sean Clifford?

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