On Monday evening, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines ended a two-plus decade drought when they won the 2023-24 College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Washington Huskies by a score of 34-13. The result signified a positive ending to what had been a tumultuous season for Michigan, including a multi-game suspension served by Harbaugh himself for alleged sign-stealing.

Back in November, Harbaugh raised eyebrows when he referred to Michigan as “America's team,” the nickname typically given to the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, per Brandon Brown of Sports Illustrated. However, if recent national viewership is any indication, it seems that Harbaugh may have been onto something with that soundbite.

The three most watched football games of this entire college season all featured Harbaugh and the Wolverines: Michigan vs Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Michigan vs Washington in the championship game, and Michigan vs Ohio State to conclude the regular season, per Sports Media Watch on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter (via Alejandro Zúñiga on X).

While college football is generally thought of as having its deepest roots in the southern United States, it seems that the tide may be shifting, judging from these viewership numbers. Speculation now begins on whether or not Harbaugh will choose to remain at Michigan or take his talents back to the NFL, where he once coached the San Francisco 49ers, and fans will also anxiously await any further discipline that may arise from the NCAA's still-ongoing investigation into the allegations of cheating by the Wolverines.