[jwplayer wNWV3NR9-XNcErKyb]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At the moment, Michigan football fans are still in meltdown mode after losing at home to rival MSU on Saturday. It was a game that the Wolverines were predicted to win — and win big — with ESPN FPI having a 90-plus percentage in the maize and blue’s favor.
Fans and some, mostly national, media are saying that head coach Jim Harbaugh’s days in Ann Arbor are numbered, with the loss being viewed that unfavorably. Given the expectations for that game in particular, and with it being a rivalry game, it’s a fair question to ask — can Harbaugh get the job done?
But Harbaugh tempered the expectations placed on him back when he was hired, saying he makes no guarantees. Were the expectations for him too high, given what Michigan has been as a program well before he arrived?
“I definitely think that Coach Harbaugh is held to a high standard,” fourth-year linebacker Josh Ross said. “That’s just how Michigan is and that’s just the pedestal that us in the program are put on – and it’s a blessing. That’s how I feel about it.”
But is that fair? Ross demures: “I think it’s not as – I don’t know. No comment on that.”
[lawrence-related id=29596,29594]
While fans are lighting their proverbial torches and sharpening their pitchforks, that doesn’t appear to be the mood in Schembechler Hall.
Fans have the luxury of proclaiming the season over and tuning out. The team cannot do that, however — not if it wants to claim some semblance of success this year. It must galvanize, as there are still seven promised games left in 2020, barring any COVID-related cancellations.
Ross is aware of what was supposed to happen on Saturday, but there’s nothing he can do to change the outcome. Whatever happened is in the past, and now he’s focused on making sure he and his teammates are ready for what comes next.
“We definitely suffered a tough loss, we definitely did,” Ross said. “But at the end of the day, us as players, we all we got. We gotta emphasize that to each other, just communicating and talking – we all we got. We’re just gonna continue pushing forward and bounce back stronger than ever.”
With No. 13 Indiana up next, there are, again, no guarantees.
The Hoosiers are usually the underdog, unranked against a highly-ranked Michigan team. However, this week, Indiana finds itself with the same AP-ranking that the Wolverines had before Big Ten Week 2.
If Michigan wins, then it could be on its way to salvaging the shortened season after unspeakable calamity. Lose and it’s a national punchline, with no one but itself to blame.
“That’s the only thing that’s gonna get the sour taste out of our mouth is to win the next game,” fifth-year tight end Nick Eubanks said. “That’s how everybody’s mindset is right now. Especially during this season, with COVID – anybody can get beat. It’s up to us to being able to fine tune the details and being able to execute.”
[lawrence-related id=29551,29554]
Over and over on Monday, Ross kept saying the team will bounce back. It was a statement of fact, not spoken as a casual opinion or a question of if.
Why is he so confident that the Wolverines can get back on track after the post-Minnesota freight train was so easily derailed on Halloween?
“Because of the type of guys we have on this team, the leaders we have on this team and the go-getters on this team,” Ross said. “We had a tough loss at the end of the day, but we’re gonna bounce back and we’re gonna have a great week and we’re gonna have a great rest of the season. I believe that, totally.”
Whatever Michigan intends to be, however strong or weak its resolve, we’ll know on Saturday. Keep a 32-year winning streak against the undefeated Hoosiers alive and your prize is top-tier Wisconsin. Lose and your legacy is that of a team that’s stuck in the mud, with little leverage to work its way back out onto dry land.