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The 2020 college football season will be one people will talk about forever. During a pandemic, a vast amount of sports around the world canceled games, most shortened seasons, and finished inside a bubble to limit players and staff from testing positive with COVID-19.
When it came to college football, multiple conferences originally canceled their seasons, the first of the Power Five conferences to do so was the Big Ten. Over a month later, the Big Ten announced there would be a 2020 football season, just a different version compared to what we are used too.
From a normal 12 game season, seeing each team playing three non-conference games and nine in-conference games along with two bye weeks, to a nine-game season, with no non-conference games and no bye week. Each team will play every team in its division and two teams in the opposite division. The ninth game will not be known until the Week 8 results as the top two teams in each division will play in the conference championship, and then each seeded team will play each other (No. 2 in East vs. No. 2 in West, 3 vs. 3, etc.).
Not only is the Big Ten having a shortened season, but players in the conference are opting out and declaring for the 2021 NFL draft. Michigan had three players opt out for the NFL draft: offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield, cornerback Ambry Thomas and wide receiver Nico Collins. Since it was announced there would be a Big Ten football season, Mayfield announced he was returning. Thomas and Collins haven’t announced their future, but, as of today, they aren’t playing this season.
With these variables from injuries, to positive tests, to players opting out, and no rest weeks, does Michigan football and head coach Jim Harbaugh get a pass if they don’t meet expectations this season?
Michigan has one of the toughest schedules in the Big Ten, playing Minnesota and Ohio State on the road, and home against Wisconsin and Penn State. Along with its schedule, Michigan will have four new starting offensive linemen, a new starting quarterback (Joe Milton) and a young secondary that will be tested heavily.
With a younger team, facing a tougher schedule than what they originally had, along with a lack of spring practice, Michigan could struggle early in the season. The positive side is the Wolverines have been continuing to practice even when the season was postponed, so players should be in shape, reducing their chance for injury.
If Michigan can come out strong and stay healthy, it could have a chance for a special season. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will be in Year 2. The offense that took over half the season to get going will have another year under their belt and while the offensive line will be the biggest question mark of them all on offense, that side of the ball could see an improvement overall.
When it comes to defense, defensive coordinator Don Brown is going to want revenge against Wisconsin and Ohio State, two teams that made the Wolverines defense look like Swiss cheese last season. Folks were questioning if Brown was still the best fit for the position after back-to-back blowout losses against the Buckeyes, will this year be an automatic pass if it happens again? Or could Brown get the boot if he strikes out?
Harbaugh has been criticized for not being able to beat Ohio State, win a Big Ten championship or appear in the College Football Playoffs. He’s had three 10-win seasons but hasn’t been able to get 11, and he’s 1-4 in bowl games. Those have been in a full normal season; this isn’t your typical season.
If Harbaugh and his Wolverines aren’t able to take that next step with a shortened season, does the judgment that usually gets thrown at him, his coaching staff and players get toned down with the circumstances that they were given?
It makes sense to dial it back this season.
Yes, every team is dealing with the same issues as Michigan: players opting out; a shorter, tougher schedule; keeping players healthy and testing negative. That doesn’t mean these results would’ve been the exact same if things were the way they planned out to be before the pandemic began.
It would be a different story if Harbaugh was struggling during his tenure in Ann Arbor, but that isn’t the truth. Harbaugh is 47-18 at Michigan and while he hasn’t lived up to all the expectations, he is still a very good coach for Michigan football. This wacky season can give him some slack if things don’t go his way and if things go better than expected, Harbaugh gets even more credit than he would have gotten in a full season because he and his team were able to go through the obstacles and continue to perform at a high level.
There are still question marks on this Michigan football team, and if it can find the answers to those questions and knock it out of the park, this team can go far. This season will not be like any other and doesn’t deserve to be weighted as heavily as all the others.
It will take a lot out of Michigan to try and take down Ohio State and appear in the College Football Playoffs. If this is the season they are able to do it, then even with an asterisk on the season, the Wolverines can have their head held high going into 2021 when things should be back to what they used to be.
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