Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hammered by Paul Finebaum following loss

Michigan came into Saturday’s rivalry matchup with Michigan State ranked sixth in the nation with a perfect 7-0 record. Although the Spartans were also unbeaten and ranked No. 8 coming in, the Wolverines were still the favorite and all eyes were on Jim Harbaugh to see if he could finally win a big game. 

The Wolverines jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter and were up 23-14 at halftime, but they were then outscored 23-10 in the second half to be handed a humiliating 37-33 loss in another late-game coaching collapse by Harbaugh, again proving that the coach can’t win the games that matter most. 

Although Michigan is still 7-1 overall and ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum hammered Harbaugh for his latest big-game coaching letdown. 

“This seem liked maybe the year that Jim Harbaugh was going to shed the choker reputation, and instead he just enhanced it,” Finebaum said Sunday on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “I’m struggling to find any energy to even critique him any longer because it is the same movie. We joke about that with Scott Frost losing one-possession games at Nebraska, which he does every week, but with Harbaugh it’s even more significant because he’s playing in major games. 

“[Michigan-Michigan State] was the biggest tilt in the country and with a win all of these showdowns occur, but he did the same thing he always does.”

Harbaugh’s big-game coaching struggles 

The inexcusable loss to Michigan State is just another big-game coaching failure for Jim Harbaugh, adding to a list that includes numerous losses to the Spartans, Ohio State and other opponents. 

With his latest loss to Michigan State, Harbaugh has now dropped to 3-9 against both MSU and Ohio State and is also 2-13 against AP Top 10 teams. Take away those two opponents and Harbaugh is 54-10 against everyone else, including a 35-8 record against all other Big Ten clubs. 

“He has some inexplicable decision, the result is the same and he is very likely going to go down in history as the biggest choker in big games in college football folklore,” Finebaum said. “I mean, the charts back it up. This is not some angry guy off the top rope.”