Every college football season tells a unique story, but ultimately it all boils down to one fundamental and defining question… who won the National Championship? This year, the answer to that question will be either the Washington Huskies or the Michigan Wolverines, the only two undefeated teams in the nation left standing. My guess is that the majority of the country will be rooting for the Huskies during Monday night's College Football Playoff Championship Game in Houston, Texas. But that won't hurt the feelings of anyone in the Michigan locker room, including head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Jim Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor in 2015 and in less than a decade, he's managed to turn Michigan into the type of program that I grew up hearing that they once were. For the last three years, no team has been more consistent. The Wolverines are the only team in that timeframe who have made three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances and won three consecutive conference titles. And if America doesn't want to appreciate that level of consistent greatness, Harbaugh has proven repeatedly that he is unapologetically self-assured and only cares about the perceptions of those who matter to him. And those who matter to him are his players and his family.
“It would mean so much for our players, for them to know what it's like to be champions,” Harbaugh said on Sunday, per Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com “What it would mean to me, for my kids to know their dad is a national champion and for my parents and my brother and my sister. That's the overwhelming thing, just that so many people would be able to enjoy that, be a part of that. For my wife, for her husband to be a national champion. For me, not so much, but for everybody else, yeah, that would be huge.”
I seriously doubt that winning the National Championship would mean “not so much,” to Jim Harbaugh, but I do believe him when he says that it matters more what it would mean to everyone else around him. After all, all season long, it's been that group of people that have continued to support Harbaugh, turning what could've been a nightmare into a dream season.
“In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity.”
-Albert Einstein
While Michigan certainly hasn't had the most trying on-field path to the National Championship Game, everything that Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines have been through off the field qualifies this Wolverines season to be considered one of the most difficult roads to a National Championship we've seen. And on that difficult road comes an opportunity that few teams every get… the opportunity to finish their story and win what would be one of the most memorable National Titles in recent college football history.
Some of what made this such a difficult run for Michigan was self-inflicted. The Connor Stalions scandal that put Michigan under the microscope was not just a fabrication of a storyline that was being blown out of proportion by those on the outside. If anything, because we don't yet know all of the details about how deep this sign-stealing scheme went, you could make a case that it's actually been under-reported, and only once the NCAA finishes their own investigation will we have the full, clear picture.
Then there was Michigan's response to both the scandal itself and Jim Harbaugh's inevitable suspension at the hands of the Big Ten for his involvement. The way that the Wolverines responded was defiant and loud, and it served as both a rallying cry for those who bleed maize and blue, and a not-so-subtle “you're either with us, or against us” message to be relayed to all impartial parties. And with every passing day, the divide between the two sides grew larger. When Ric Flair showed up in Ann Arbor, you could see that the Wolverines we embracing their role as villains. Every time a player wore “Michigan vs. Everybody” or “Free Harbaugh” shirt, or voiced that sentiment in an interview or on social media, it was calling attention to the fact that the Michigan Wolverines were standing alone in the college football landscape, in the midst of the sort of season that we don't see on an regular basis, and that they were okay with it.
Then there was “The Game” which was being played without Jim Harbaugh, where Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was anointed a “Michigan legend” because in Harbaugh's absence, it was Moore led the Wolverines to their third straight victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. From there, a conference title seemed inevitable. Having to play Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game was just a formality. The best team in the country was going to pummel an overmatched Hawkeyes squad, and that's exactly what they did.
From there, Michigan would be tasked with facing the defining program of the last fifteen years in the College Football Playoff semifinal at The Rose Bowl… the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide, who most experts believed possessed too much speed, too much strength, and too much playmaking for the Wolverines to handle. After all, Bama had defeated a Georgia Bulldogs team in the SEC Championship Game that was looking to win their third consecutive National Title. It took overtime, but with a triumphant 4th down stand, Michigan's season continued on.
The last obstacle in the way of Michigan completing their dream season is a Washington Huskies team that has been counted out and overlooked all season long. In their own unique way, Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies are on their own journey to what would be considered a hard-fought National Title, but make no mistake, the story of Washington's championship season would be a whole lot different than that of Michigan's. We've seen teams overcome the odds that Washington has. Injuries, a gauntlet of conference opponents, multiple times as an underdog, including in the College Football Playoff semifinal. But we've never seen anything like this Michigan season, and if I were to bet, I'd say we never will again.
For that reason, I'm choosing to believe that winning this National Championship Game would mean plenty to Jim Harbaugh.
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