Wanted: A quarterback who can deliver a clutch, dominant, game-winning performance over Ohio State.

The sign has figuratively hung for years over the Michigan Stadium tunnel and whatever hole exists in The Snakepit to allow players admittance to the field.

It hasn’t been answered in the Jim Harbaugh era, despite the head coach’s own ability to deliver against the Buckeyes in his playing days, and his QB-whispering reputation. But it’s time.

Past time.

This is no shot at Shea Patterson, whose efforts the past two years against OSU can scarcely be judged in fairness. When you’ve fallen into a 20-foot well, your ability to climb 10 feet up sheer walls gets a shrug.

Patterson went a combined 38-for-77 throwing against the Buckeyes, with 492 passing yards, four touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. But when you’re giving up a combined 118 points in two games, none of that matters. Blaming the QB is like blaming a tsunami-sparked neighborhood flood on a guy who left the hose running in his back yard.

Still, the point stands. Almost without exception, when Michigan beats Ohio State (remember?), it does so with either a dominant QB effort or one that complements a dominant defense by not screwing things up.

In the last nine years of losses, Michigan featured one such performance that still fell short — by a play. In 2013, Devin Gardner went 32-for-47 throwing the ball against the Buckeyes in The Big House. He carved them up for 451 passing yards and four touchdowns, with a single interception — at the goal line, for the ball game.

Other than that, no Michigan QB has delivered truly win-worthy production in a series that has completely escaped the Wolverines’ grasp.

Here are the last five Michigan victories in the series, and the attendant quarterbacking efforts.

• 2011 (Michigan, 40-34) — Denard Robinson doesn’t throw much, but shows devastating effectiveness when he does. He goes 14-for-17 for 167 yards and three touchdowns, without an interception. That blends nicely with his 26 carries for 170 yards on the ground, with two more touchdowns. He remains the last Michigan quarterback with a win over Ohio State.

• 2003 (Michigan, 35-21) — John Navarre steps up solidly as a senior behind center, calmly guiding the Wolverines to a 35-21 win at home in the 100th game of the series. He delivers a 21-for-32 passing performance, featuring 278 yards and two touchdowns with a lone interception. At that moment, no one in their wildest nightmares imagines Michigan losing 16 of the next 17.

• 2000 (Michigan 38-26) — Drew Henson delivers the last Michigan win over the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium, another unthinkable U-M fans would rather not contemplate. He makes the most of his 14 completions on 25 attempts, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns, with just one interception. He also runs a naked bootleg for the game-clinching touchdown, never suspecting Michigan’s two-decade spate of the worst kind of streaking to come.

• 1999 (Michigan, 24-17) — Tom Brady did what he needed to do, when the Wolverines were limiting OSU to less than a third of its production in The Game these days. He went 17-for-27 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. (Then in a preview of coming attractions, he threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-34 overtime win against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl).

• 1997 (Michigan 20-14) — Brian Griese delivered the ultimate don’t-screw-it-up performance in Michigan’s national championship-preserving win. The Wolverines scored one touchdown on offense and Griese went 14-for-25 with 147 yards, no TDs and no interceptions. That was enough, given Charles Woodson’s punt return touchdown and a defense that forced OSU quarterbacks Joe Germaine and Stanley Jackson into a combined 9-for-26 effort with 133 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, including a devastating pick-six.

All of these U-M QBs went on to play in the NFL, in some fashion. Most of Michigan’s recent quarterbacks against the Buckeyes have not.

Meanwhile, the Evil Empire has rolled out Justin Fields, Dwayne Haskins, J.T. Barrett and so forth. In the last two years alone, Fields and Haskins threw for a combined 620 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions. Barrett didn’t beat Michigan with his arm but rushed for 264 yards (actually 263) and four TDs over his two years facing Harbaugh squads.

“Hey, look,” noted Michigan Radio play-by-play man Jim Brandstatter. “Ohio State’s got a talented football team. You look at the NFL Draft. The NFL doesn’t make mistakes with great players. They’re going to pick a lot more Ohio State players in the top five rounds than probably anybody in the country, including Alabama and Clemson.

“You win with talent. They’ve had that talent. The other thing they’ve had is this great run of quarterbacks.”

Michigan once featured a great run itself. The sooner it embarks on another, the closer it will be to finding daylight against the Eye of Ryan and Mt. Doom.

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