Michigan Football: Can Jim Harbaugh's Brand Of Football Win A National Championship?

For the third year in a row, the Michigan Wolverines are off to a 6-0 start and looking like the heavy favorites to capture a third-straight Big Ten championship.

It certainly took a little longer than most Michigan fans expected, but head coach Jim Harbaugh has finally built the football program into a legitimate national championship contender. The turning point came on the heels of the 2020 COVID season where the Wolverines finished with a 2-4 record, and it looked like Harbaugh might be finished as head coach after six seasons. 

Instead of both parties going in another direction, Harbaugh and Michigan agreed to a new 5-year extension that was essentially the equivalent of a 'prove it' deal heading into the 2021 season. Harbaugh, once the highest paid coach in the Big Ten, would see his base pay nearly cut in half, but the new contract was also loaded with lucrative performance incentives - including $500,000 for winning the east division, $500,000 for reaching the College Football Playoffs, and $1 million for winning the Big Ten championship. 

Harbaugh delivered on all three. 

That magical 2021 season would see Michigan bring an end to Ohio State's eight game winning streak in the rivalry, and the Wolverines capture their first Big Ten championship in 17 years (2004) - earning their first trip to the College Football Playoff as a result. The magic continued in 2022, with the Wolverines beating the Buckeyes in Columbus for the first time in over two decades, winning their second consecutive Big Ten championship, and making another appearance in the CFP. 

Now, in 2023, Harbaugh and the Wolverines look to be on a similar path - and the expectation this time around is a national championship. 

〽️ @UMichFootball starts the season 6-0 three years in a row 🔥

How do you compare this year's team to the previous two? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/B1BDpDa2z2

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 11, 2023

“If we don’t win the national championship, it’s not a successful season in my eyes,” Corum said over the summer. “I came here with goals — we reached some of them, but that’d be icing on the cake.”

Appearing on an episode of 'Michigan Made', several Wolverines made it clear that the goal in 2023 is to take home college football's biggest prize.

Roman Wilson, who has been Michigan's top wideout through six weeks, conveyed the sense of urgency to get it done now. “It’s now or never," said Wilson. "This really has to be our year.”

Senior edge rusher Braiden McGregor echoed Wilson's sentiments. "We have a team this year that really should do what we set out to do for two years," said McGregor. "If we focus and lock in, go every day as hard as we possibly can, there shouldn't be anybody that should be able to stop us"

Six weeks in, Michigan certainly looks unstoppable. The Wolverines are currently No. 3 in the nation in point differential, and the only team in the country that has won every game by more than 24 points. The Wolverines also lead the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 6.67 PPG. The dominance by the defense has allowed JJ McCarthy and the Michigan offense to take a steady and methodical approach. While the Wolverines are certainly capable of making explosive plays offensively, they're perfectly content with relentlessly pummeling an opposing defense in the trenches with the rushing attack.

This is the brand of football that Jim Harbaugh wanted to bring to Ann Arbor, and it's clear that he's finally got all of the pieces in place to make it work. We've already seen that it's good enough to beat Ohio State and win Big Ten championships, now the biggest question is whether it will be good enough to capture the biggest prize in all of college football.