Earlier this week, Jim Harbaugh's football team, like so many business travelers to Fort Lauderdale before them, found some time to put work aside and slip away to the beach. It wasn't exactly spontaneous--it was on the media schedule, as the Orange Bowl committee sets up these events as part of bowl week--but it was a time for Harbaugh to watch a group of guys that already like spending time together grow their bond with each other.

"There's a great joy around the team, the locker room, practices. It would almost be like if you weren't happy about that, then there would be something else we've got to look into. Why? Why wouldn't you be happy?" he said during today's Orange Bowl press conference. "But not just happy. There's a real narrow focus that the team has concerning this football game and making each day -- making them good days. Having great meetings, having great practices, get the energy up and go play the game."

The comradery of the 2021 Wolverines is oft-discussed and apparent from the outside, and inside the team it continues to grow. Harbaugh said it extends to the coaching staff; he could see the bond and ease of interaction when the coaches found time to go to dinner at Joe's Stone Crab the other night.

"We built a belief system. We worked internally a lot and we just kind of focused on ourselves. I think that that culture and that energy has really built a bond with this team and I've never been closer with a group of men in my five years here than this team right here," right tackle Andrew Stueber told the media before the team left for south Florida. "I love everyone on it, I'm comfortable going up to everybody and talking to them, so that kind of culture really built up throughout the offseason and transitioned into the season as well."

Harbaugh has found a group of guys like himself, guys that find joy in the everyday. "The approach always from the beginning and each year, every day matters, and the games are the ones that count," Harbaugh said. "We're going into our 14th game that counts. Our guys have done a tremendous job each day, making each day matter, and then when they get to the games, they've made those days count."

Harbaugh said that Michigan won't deviate from the formula that got them to this point. It's something that we've heard all week from players, particularly those on the offense who noted that they feel their best chance at defeating Georgia is to play the physical brand of football that got them 12 victories.

Beyond scheme, Harbaugh's formula for success is simple: have great meetings, have great practices, and then carry that over into great games. He said they'll strive to do that today, with meetings and a walk-through scheduled. With joy pervasive and a team as close-knit as this, it's easy to keep everyone on the same page and allow team progress to snowball.

"Georgia is a great football team, and we've had good days, really good days, good meetings, good practices. We're getting the energy up, and it's time to go play."

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