Jim Harbaugh needs Michigan to get on a roll in a big way. The hot seat spotlight is on him and other coaches entering Week 5.
September is set to come to a close and so with it comes Week 5 of the college football season. It’s still early in the season and programs still have the opportunity to turn things around, but for some optimism isn’t openly walking through the door. After last week’s clobbering at the hands of Wisconsin, Jim Harbaugh’s tenure at Michigan has hit a crossroads.
Harbaugh and several other coaches across the college football landscape need their programs to find an identity and build off that right away. Even coaches like Chip Kelly, who saw his program pull off a surprise upset, aren’t out of the woods yet.
Week 5 is going to be an opportunity to get the ball rolling or yet another week where the hole gets dug deeper. Here’s who needs a win in Week 5.
Jim Harbaugh – Michigan
After being thoroughly demoralized on the road against Wisconsin, there isn’t much optimism revolving around the future of Michigan football right now. Jim Harbaugh’s inability to win big games has finally caught up to him and so has his lack of having a quarterback to help the Wolverines take flight.
Winning the big one has seemingly plagued Harbaugh every stage of his career, but it’s become more notable during his time in Ann Arbor than perhaps any other stop. Last week’s loss to Wisconsin was just another painful reminder.
Harbaugh is 1-9 against top 10 teams during his time with the Wolverines. He also hasn’t beaten Ohio State, which is arguably more important than anything else the program can do.
It’s not like Harbaugh just arrived to town either. He’s already in his fifth season as head coach and one has to wonder if some of those earlier 10-win seasons with the program are the best it’s going to get.
Shea Patterson hasn’t been the answer many were hoping for and the Wolverines have struggled to find a rhythm. The “just wait until Harbaugh gets a quarterback” crowd is quickly beginning to run out of excuses.
Going forward, Michigan has to rack up wins and plenty of them. Everyone in the world knows that defeating Ohio State at home this season is a must for Harbaugh.
The problem is the game against the Buckeyes is a long ways away. There are plenty of other huge games the Wolverines have along the way before they can even focus on turning their efforts toward game-planning for the Buckeyes.
One of those big tests was last week and they failed that in spectacular fashion. They still have contests against Penn State, Iowa and Michigan State before then.
This week has to be a dominant showing for Michigan. They will be hosting Rutgers. Michigan needs to run the Scarlet Knights right out of The Big House. They can’t treat this game like they did Army and get nearly upset.
This has to be a 35-0 or 42-0 type game. A dominant win over a lesser opponent can provide something positive to build off. Michigan’s at that aforementioned crossroads. This season is a pivotal point for both the future of Harbaugh and Michigan itself. As cliche as it sounds, they can’t get caught looking ahead and have to take everything one game at a time.
Willie Taggart – Florida State
Florida State took care of business against Louisville. That allowed the Seminoles to even their record at 2-2. Listen, no one is suddenly content with Willie Taggart. That being said, defeating NC State at home and getting over .500 could allow Florida State to continue to build some momentum. That’s a step in the right direction for Taggart. A loss however would dig that hole further.
Chip Kelly – UCLA
How incredible was the comeback win over Washington State on the road. Chip Kelly got the win he desperately needed and may have ignited a spark in the process. This week, the Bruins visit Arizona and have to win this game. Chip Kelly can’t afford to see his program take a step back after the emotional rally last week.
Justin Fuente – Virginia Tech
Justin Fuente saw Virginia Tech begin the season with a conference loss to Boston College. They’ve followed it up with wins over Old Dominion and Furman. This week Va. Tech resumes ACC action when they host Duke. If they fall to 0-and-2 in conference play, that would be a bad look for Justin Fuente. No one would realistically consider Fuente in any immediate danger, but there needs to be some real turnaround this year.
Charlie Strong – USF
The USF Bulls finally put a losing streak to rest by beating South Carolina State. Now, they play some stiffer competition at home against SMU. Charlie Strong probably doesn’t want to end back up in the loss column.