11. Michigan played a great game yesterday, especially on defense and special teams, and they earned a modicum of respect from me. But that respect certainly does not extend to the Wolverines' head coach, Jim Harbaugh. During the game, Harbaugh was his typical out-of-control, frothing-at-the-mouth lunatic on the sidelines, making a pure spectacle of himself and earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his egregious conduct. After Harbaugh's epic meltdown, which included berating officials, breaking his headset, and throwing his play sheets, his team was outscored 23 to 10 and outgained 200 yards to 47 yards. Perhaps not coincidentally, two crucial third down penalty calls subsequently went against Michigan: A pass interference that was called on Wolverine defensive back Delano Hill that allowed Ohio State to convert a 3rd-and-7, and a pass interference call that was not called on Buckeye defensive back Gareon Conley that stalled Michigan's drive in the second overtime period and forced a field goal instead of a touchdown.
12. True to form, Harbaugh continued his whining during his postgame press conference, calling out the officials for numerous alleged bad calls, and implying that the game was somehow fixed in Ohio State's favor. Harbaugh mentioned several penalties that were called against Michigan and several more that were not called against Ohio State, but his biggest gripe was the spot on the Buckeyes' 4th-and-1 play in the second overtime. Even though the officials were in perfect position on the play, and even though an overhead view showed that Barrett obtained the necessary yardage, Harbaugh insisted that Barrett had come up a yard short. Of course, Harbaugh is entitled to be a jackass (so long as he is willing to pay for the privilege), but his tantrums do not reflect well upon his team. Instead of congratulating the Buckeyes and being gracious in defeat, Harbaugh's classless and incessant whining and borderline conspiracy theories diminished his own team's prodigious efforts to such an extent that they were rendered a footnote in The Game. The Michigan fan base, deranged and delusional after repeated beatings at the hands of their erstwhile rivals, undoubtedly love Harbaugh's Defender of the Faith schtick, but are serious-minded recruits really going to want to play for a guy who has less self-control than a half-drunk slob throwing his remote control at the TV set after every questionable call?
13. There's a reason that the San Francisco 49ers completely fell apart after their Super Bowl season - Harbaugh the tactician was able to make them great for a while, but then Harbaugh the lunatic tore his own team apart. Let's make no mistake - yesterday was Harbaugh's Super Bowl, it was the best team that he'll ever have at Michigan and his best chance to win the Big Ten title and make the playoffs. He had 43 seniors this year, a huge experience advantage over the Buckeyes, who were the youngest Power5 team. Next year will be a major rebuilding year, and then Harbaugh has to try to overcome Urban Meyer's decided recruiting advantage for several years thereafter. The odds are that Harbaugh will implode, and burn down the Michigan program in his self-immolation, before he will get the Wolverines "back" to whatever level they think they are supposed to occupy. The Ten Year War 2.0 ended yesterday. Harbaugh will be long gone before 2024 rolls around, if not in a padded cell then on the sidelines of some struggling NFL team that is willing to light a fire with napalm.
