The future is bright for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan after huge Citrus Bowl win.
The date is Jan. 3, 2012 and Brady Hoke is on top of the world.
The Michigan Wolverines blitzed past the Virginia Tech Hokies by a 23-20 score to cap off an 11-win campaign in Hoke’s first season in Ann Arbor, and needless to say, everyone was pleased. Just three years later, Hoke was no longer the head coach of the Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh was installed as the new leader of Michigan’s program.
Much like Hoke, Harbaugh put together an impressive debut season, leading the maize and blue to a 10-3 season that was punctuated by a dominant, 41-7 win over Florida in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. This time, however, things are different for Michigan.
Hoke inherited a talented roster, including quarterback Denard Robinson, from Rich Rodriguez, and the now unemployed head coach also had the benefit of facing a Ohio State team that went 6-7 in that first season. Fast forward a handful of years, and Harbaugh has no such luck. He was “blessed” with a cast of underwhelming talent that Hoke acquired, including a barren quarterback position, and while there were certainly playmakers available, Jim Harbaugh was charged with unearthing them.
He did just that.
The Citrus Bowl performance was telling of Harbaugh’s impact, and that was never more evident than with the transformation of quarterback Jake Rudock. Rudock, who arrived as a graduate transfer from Iowa, began the season with a borderline disastrous performance against Utah, as the Wolverines suffered a loss partly due to three interceptions uncorked by their new signal-caller. Since then, however, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior looks like a different player.
To that end, Rudock finished the season at No. 2 on the all-time list of Michigan passers in terms of single-season yardage with 3,017, and he was nearly perfect in the final contest. Rudock completed 20 of his 31 pass attempts for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and he did so without a single mistake that cost his team possession.
The Jim Harbaugh effect.
Harbaugh has been hailed as a quarterback guru, and with good reason, but his impact went far beyond Rudock’s excellent transformation. Michigan was dominant on both sides of the ball along the line of scrimmage against Florida, rushing for 225 yards on 46 carries (4.9 average) while disrupting Florida quarterback Treon Harris into multiple mistakes. It must be noted that Harris isn’t exactly a dominant collegiate player, but at the same time, Michigan’s pass-rush simply wouldn’t allow him any level of comfort, and on the offensive side, the Wolverines routinely won up front against a top-flight SEC defensive line.
Simply put, there was something different about this performance and, well, the entire Harbaugh era.
Hoke’s debut season was fun for Michigan fans in that he was the anti-Rich Rodriguez. Hoke and his “aw, shucks” personality resonated with the base, especially in the fact that he was a “Michigan Man” through and through. Still, there were a lot of smoke and mirrors in that 11-2 performance, while the 2015-2016 emergence holds nary a whiff of that sentiment.
Under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan’s surge feels sustainable. The Wolverines are building through the defense and along the line of scrimmage, as Harbaugh routinely unleashes multiple tight ends and a fullback in an era where that simply isn’t done. Of course, Harbaugh needs time to get “his guy” on board at various positions, highlighted by running back and linebacker, but with an incoming recruiting class that ranks, at least by some, as the best in the country, the stars are aligned for him to do just that.
Walloping the SEC East champion by 34 points in their home state doesn’t make Jim Harbaugh’s arrival any more valid than it already was, but it certainly helps. Michigan will be recruiting in Florida and throughout the South under Harbaugh, and this type of showing (on national television) will do wonders for that effort.
Still, this wildly impressive showing is about much more than one afternoon. There are players, most notably Jake Rudock, who will be departing from this year’s roster for Michigan, and that will force Harbaugh to scramble to fill holes in the manner of every college football coach.
Now, though, Michigan fans can take solace in the man making those decisions and pulling those strings.
Jim Harbaugh is not Brady Hoke. Michigan is back. This time, it’s for real.
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