Jim Harbaugh: This team has all the qualities to win a Big Ten Championship
Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines picked up a gritty, much-needed comeback win over Penn State on Saturday. The Wolverines trailed 17-14 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but prevailed and stayed alive in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Throughout his tenure in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh has been criticized for not being able to lead his team to victory in the biggest moments, but the narrative has shifted all season and was capped off on Saturday.
The Michigan head coach says his team has all the qualities to compete for a Big Ten title.
“This is a great win,” Jim Harbaugh said. “There’s no doubt this team is full of all the championship qualities in guys and football players. They were born to do this. They approach it like that, like ‘we were born for these kind of days.’ Let’s go have at it, let’s go have good days and play the game. They enjoy it. They are having a lot of fun, the energy is time, it’s time to go. That’s the stuff that I see and hear. Then they go and have at it. It’s great to be a part of.”
Michigan was led defensively by its dynamic pass-rushing duo of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, as the twosome combined for five sacks and two forced fumbles while the Michigan defense finished the day with seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss. That constant pressure and havoc continually disrupted any chance at momentum for the Penn State offense and the Wolverines came up big when it mattered the most.
Jim Harbaugh shares message he gave to Cade McNamara
Penn State took a 14-17 late in the fourth quarter and it appeared that all of the momentum was on the side of the Nittany Lions.
Despite the raucous environment, Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara stayed calm and poised when he took the huddle as the clock ticked down. The crowd noise didn’t faze him. The moment wasn’t too big.
McNamara answered the call, capping off an impressive late drive with a game-winning touchdown pass to Erik All.
After the win, Jim Harbaugh shared the message he gave to his young quarterback just before the game-winning drive began.
“I just said, ‘Hey, Cade, you were born for this. Born for drives like this,”” Harbaugh said, discussing his quarterback’s game-winner. “Then he went out there and he did what he does. Very cold-blooded.”
Jim Harbaugh and the 2021 Michigan Wolverines still have tough tests ahead including the likely Big Ten title game, but it’s mid-November and they are in the conversation.
That’s a story that hasn’t been told in a long time around Ann Arbor.