Jim Harbaugh didn't view himself as a savior of Michigan football when he was first hired in 2014, and he doesn't see himself that way now. While the fan base expected and hoped for championships, the head coach is still working on building his program into a contender.
U-M took a step backward with a loss to a less talented Michigan State team Saturday.
"I don't consider myself a savior then or now … [I'm] part of a team," he said when asked to evaluate his success. "I'm not going to go back over the last five and a half odd years, but I love coaching this team — the current team, past teams we've had."
He called Saturday's 27-24 loss "gut-wrenching," adding they needed to move past it.
"Any time we've had a win here, we say we've got to move on quickly to the next game. Same with a loss," he said. "You win a game, come back Monday and try to do the same, try to do it again. You lose a game, you try to work hard and make darn sure it doesn't happen again. Same mindset, same approach.
"What happened on Saturday, anything that happened in the past, that window's now closed. There's nothing you can go back and do about what happened on Saturday. Next Saturday is still days away, so you have some control over that, and that's what you do today. You get back at the work of making sure that doesn't happen again, try to have a better result the next time we play."
Michigan notched 28 first downs in the game, but never really found a consistent rhythm. The offensive line was bad in spots — Harbaugh said there could be changes there Saturday at Indiana — and there were too many second-and-longs, especially early in the game.
The offense ended up 7 of 15 on third down, but it started out 1 for 6 and was 2 for 8 at one point, Harbaugh noted, before improving. A few of the conversions came on the last drive, too, which took four and a half minutes and left less than a minute to attempt an onside kick and score again.
U-M dinked and dunked underneath coverage to drive the field.
"We would have liked to get to end zone faster, but taking more shots [downfield] doesn't mean you're going to complete them," Harbaugh said. "Sometimes you have to take what the defense gives you. But I wish we could have gotten it done faster, sure."
Some, meanwhile, questioned U-M's energy, insisting Michigan State wanted it more. Harbaugh wouldn't agree with that assessment.
"I know how important it was to us and how hard our guys played and the way they did hustle," he said. "I guess I don't know what it looked like on the sidelines, but what it looked like on the field was our guys were playing really hard, [had] a lot of hustle.
"The effort after watching the game and the tape … I didn't question our effort in our players."
The execution, however, simply wasn't good enough, leading to a bad loss that left the Wolverines 1-1 heading into this week's game at Indiana.
Michigan Football Notes
• Michigan's cornerbacks, redshirt sophomores Vincent Gray and Gemon Green, were beaten repeatedly on the deep ball when left on an island Saturday. They were also flagged for some holding and pass interference penalties Harbaugh didn't agree with.
"There were a couple calls early that were technical. It could have been … I'd like to see that same technical call called both ways," Harbaugh said. "I think it affected how our corners played, and they definitely got hit with some deep balls, five of them.
"Vince is our best corner, an extremely good player. I thought Gemon Green battled as well, made some real strides."
Gray was replaced at times by redshirt freshman Jalen Perry.
"There's always competition, but I expect Vince will bounce right back," Harbaugh said, publicly wondering if Gray might have been affected by an earlier hit on the sideline in the game.
"Vince is arguably our best corner," the coach reiterated. "I expect him to be battling back this week."
• The secondary didn't get help from the defensive line, which notched five sacks at Minnesota but none against the Spartans. The defense as a whole went from 20 quarterback pressures (combined sacks, QB hits and hurries) in week one to 13 in the rivalry contest.
"We were close, but didn't really get the sacks — not a sack," Harbaugh said. "We got to the quarterback a handful of times, a dozen times, but just after he released the ball. That combination of throwing it early and not quite getting there put a lot of pressure back and forth."
The D-line and secondary rely on each other, he noted.
"It just wasn't effective enough in this last ballgame," Harbaugh said.
• Harbaugh wouldn't comment further on the news that Bob Shoop wasn't working with his group on the field.
"I think with the statement [from the school], there's no need to elaborate on that for reasons of confidentiality," Harbaugh said. "[Analyst] Aashon Larkins is coaching the safeties and doing a good job. We've adjusted as best we can."
• Harbaugh also noted redshirt sophomore linebackers Cam McGrone and Michael Barrett, who left Saturday's game with injuries, were "doing much better" and he'd know more about their status later in the week.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
