Any development that disrupts the machine Michigan has built over the past few years is good news for Ohio State football.
Jim Harbaugh reportedly declined a lucrative contract offer to return to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. The architect of the Wolverines’ return to apex predator status in the Big Ten leaves behind a national championship trophy and two ongoing NCAA investigations.As recently as mid-November 2021, Buckeye fans hoped Harbaugh might stay forever. The space cadet with the khaki fetish and aloof press conference style couldn’t win a big game, let alone The Game.
How times have changed. With three straight victories in The Game — plus a couple of sideways comments about Ryan Day and, oh yeah, that pesky unresolved sign-stealing thing — Harbaugh transformed from whipping boy to a true Michigan villain for OSU fans.
So this news hits with some ambivalence at Ohio State. Maybe Michigan will struggle to replicate this recent run of success without Harbaugh. Him leaving now, though, deprives the Buckeyes of the satisfaction of watching him walk across the field to ever again shake an OSU coach’s hand in defeat. They will never see him held to further account for any of the alleged infractions for which he missed half of last season’s regular-season games due to suspension.Harbaugh flipped the rivalry, spread consternation in Columbus and stole the Buckeyes’ title as the standard-bearer for success outside the SEC footprint. He took the quarterback OSU passed on — J.J. McCarthy — won The Game with him three times and heads off into the Pro Bowl-worthy arms of Justin Herbert.
Ohio State also likely cannot capitalize on one of the other consequences of Harbaugh’s departure: The 30-day transfer window which opens for Michigan players. When Nick Saban retired, OSU poached Alabama for a top quarterback prospect, a starting center and one of the best defensive players in the country. Considering the bad blood between these programs, would any Wolverine cross the rivalry line, even for a prominent role in Scarlet and Gray?
Ohio State’s past six weeks of player retention and acquisition already positioned it to end the rivalry losing streak on Thanksgiving weekend. No chance anyone in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center takes any aspect of such a win for granted. Without Harbaugh on the receiving end, though, will the victory taste as sweet?
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