Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) are winners of four straight games, with each win coming by at least 25 points. The Wolverines are on a roll as they head into the final game of the season, the game that means the most out of them all.
The Wolverines are more than a touchdown underdog at home heading into this game, due to the fact that Ohio State (11-0, 8-0) has won every game leading up to this point, with 11 points being the Buckeyes' closest margin of victory.
Harbaugh joined his weekly "Inside Michigan Football" radio show with host Jon Jansen tonight to discuss his team on the week of the Ohio State game.
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Harbaugh looked back at the Indiana game, where the Wolverines disposed of the Hoosiers 39-14 last week to keep the momentum building.
"I saw some great play," Harbaugh said. "Defensively, [senior linebacker] Josh Uche was a big play player, player of the game. [Senior linebacker] Jordan Glasgow was outstanding. So many guys made plays.
"The secondary was very good. The Indiana team was leading the Big Ten in passing offense. Don Brown did a great job in game planning and adjusting. [Freshman safety] Dax Hill was also the co-player of the game. He just kept showing up around the ball and making tackles.
"We had really good coverage in the secondary, really good play back there. [Senior cornerback] LaVert Hill is another guy to talk about. On the third play of the game he had a pass interference that was really textbook coverage. You get the feeling that if he just sneezes on somebody, they’re waiting to make a call on him.
"Offensively, it was a big day for the quarterback, [senior] Shea Patterson."
It was a big day for the receiving corps in the pass game, as well. Junior wide out Nico Collins had six catches for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns. He surpassed sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Bell for the title as the team's leading receiver. Bell scored his first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard dart from Patterson. Harbaugh believes there's more scores coming for Bell.
"I asked Ronnie today if he knew how the olive jar works," Harbaugh said. "He had no idea what I was talking about. If you take an olive jar, they’re so tightly packed in there. If you unscrew the lid, it’s a pretty big opening of the jar. If you turn the jar over, not one single olive will come out. But, if you were to get one olive to come out, if you just plucked an olive out, then all the other olives would just come right with it. He’s got his first one. It took a while to get, but the principle of the olive jar is they’re probably going to just all start coming now.
"Nico Collins was sensational. Tarik Black had some great plays. All those guys are playing so well on offense. I think they feel like there’s even more. They’re hungrier to play even better and get more offense. They’re in a great place right now.
"[Freshman wide receiver] Mike Sainristil had a big catch in the game. [Freshman wide receiver] Giles Jackson is playing with a lot of confidence and playing really well. Every time he gets the ball in his hands, something good happens. Whether it’s on the kickoff return. He had a couple big kickoff returns in the game. Also on offense, he had the big 50-yard catch on the first drive and then had a fly sweep and had another reverse. Even a couple of those running plays he had, he was just tripped up and on a kickoff, just tripped up by the heels. He’s playing with a lot of confidence."
The offensive line protecting for Patterson and giving him a pocket to throw from has been huge in the passing success.
"I saw a stat that we're getting 2.4 seconds on average to throw," Harbaugh said. "That’s a lot of time. There was one play in the game where there was nobody around Shea and he was holding the ball with a kind of pocket that you dream about. The offensive line is jelling and really playing well."
Moving ahead to the game with Ohio State, Harbaugh says there's a different feeling around Schembechler Hall this week.
"There’s a bounce in the step every week, but there’s an even bigger bounce in our step this week," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh added that U-M spends more time throughout the year on Ohio State than the other opponents on the schedule.
"It’s a weekly thing where you’re watching them," Harbaugh revealed. "Our guys understand how big it is and they’re excited for it and confident."
When asked what makes the rivalry so special, Harbaugh says the tradition of it stands out.
"How long the two teams has been playing. These are the two winningest programs in college football history — Michigan being No. 1, them No. 2. The proximity to home, too. I think there’s a lot of things that makes it special."
The Buckeyes always pose a big challenge, with this season being no different under first-year head coach Ryan Day.
He’s doing a heck of a job," Harbaugh said. "Him and his entire coaching staff have really prepared their team well and they’re playing really good football.
"They’re a really good team. They have one of the top defenses in the country. Their offense is one of the top offenses in the country. They have a really potent run game and pass game."
The Buckeyes tout one of the top defenders in all of college football in junior defensive end Chase Young. Young has 15.5 tackles for loss, including 14 sacks, and five forced fumbles on the season.
"He’s really athletic," Harbaugh said about Young. "He’s one of the best pass rushers I’ve seen in the college game in quite some time. He’s physical in the run game, can take on blocks and get penetration, flow down the line of scrimmage. In all those ways, he’s really good."
On offense, Ohio State is led by sophomore quarterback Justin Fields and a lot of speedy weapons around him.
"He’s a good dual-threat guy," Harbaugh said. "He can hurt you in the passing game and he’s got a lot of really good receivers. If they’re covered, he can pull it and get the yardage and get first downs."
Jansen noted how fast Ohio State is.
"We’re pretty fast, too," Harbaugh said in response. "I’ll just leave it at that, I guess. They’re going to be tough to beat, but we’re going to be tough to beat, too."
Notes
• Saturday will be the last game at Michigan Stadium for the U-M seniors. Harbaugh commented on his senior class and his entire team.
"I love them," Harbaugh said of the seniors. "It’s a great group of guys. I really like the whole team. They don’t give us any grief. There’s no off the field issues, there’s no drama. They’re respectful on campus. I can’t remember the last time we had some kind of incident. Just a great bunch of guys."
• Harbaugh was asked about his five captains in Shea Patterson, Ben Bredeson, Khaleke Hudson, Josh Metellus and Carlo Kemp.
"Those guys have been tremendous," Harbaugh said. "Ben Bredeson has had a tremendous year. Carlo Kemp has had a tremendous year and has been a tremendous leader.
"Khaleke Hudson has grown so much. He’s always been a great leader by example but he’s learned how much respect the guys on the team have for him. He’s really had a good year football-wise too.
"Shea has grown so much as a leader. You can tell how much the guys on the team respect him and react to him. They say, ‘We’re riding Shea Patterson.’ They call him Sugar Shea Patterson. That’s pretty cool They like and respect him a whole heck of a lot.
"Josh Metellus is, without a question, having his best year of football. He’s playing great. He’s had some really big games. This past game was no different. His communication in the back end and talking to Dax and making sure he was squared away on every snap. It ended up that he was pretty squared away on his own, but Josh was right there and helping him out along the way. He’s grown so much as a leader.
"The players vote on the captains. The coaches don’t have any vote on who is a captain. But, you look back and you say, ‘Darn good job.’ They picked the right five guys and those five guys that they picked all really rose to the occasion."
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