Which was the best win of the Harbaugh era?
Since the ultimate goal is always stated as winning a National Championship, the most obvious answer would be the victory over Washington. For me, though, and I think probably for many others, it was beating OSU in 2021, which I believe made everything that followed possible. I doubt many of us were confident heading into that game, and I’m thinking the players and coaches had their doubts as well, after years of both heartbreak and humiliation in the greatest rivalry in sports. OSU had the stars, the smug, born on third base coach, and the confidence that comes from years of unbroken success. Michigan had it’s determination to face those doubts and finally get the job done or, as Harbaugh said, “die trying.” And they did. And it was glorious.
Everything about that day was perfect, including the way they did it, by running it down their throats, the snow falling as it happened, and the complete euphoria in the aftermath. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone as happy as Harbaugh was afterward, cutting short the on field interview with a delirious “we did it” before running off.
I’d rank the Alabama victory second, because it was Alabama and that created its own doubts, followed by the two other wins over OSU. The Washington win I rank only 5th. The work was done by that point. We knew Michigan was the better team. It was a great ride. I’m interested in what others think.
April 17th, 2024 at 10:15 AM ^
"Donovan Edwards....just tears off another heart breaking long run against this Ohio State defense. An 85 yard run to the endzone and it's 44-23, Michigan."
April 17th, 2024 at 10:31 AM ^
Five way tie:
- 2021 OSU
- 2022 OSU
- 2023 OSU
- Alabama
- Washington
Each of those wins brought me to the pinnacle of sports euphoria, so I can’t split hairs by ranking them.
Aside from those, one of my favorite wins was when we shut out Rutgers like 78-0 after their fans became weirdly uppity and they decided to make the game a big recruiting event. It was just hilarious.
All the wins against PSU were also great, especially when we made them look silly.
And beating the crap out of Notre Dame.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
It's crazy that I dont even out the PSU wins up there but youre right - theyve become underrated in hind sight. The Erick All TD was destined to be the biggest okay of the season until the boys shocked us all and beat Ohio. The '22 PBJ game was hyped, and then we snuffed them out and announced our arrival into the top 5. The '23 game had the signs drama, and ended with Moore declaring his love for his coach and this university.
Before 2021, we were peers with PSU, except theyd managed to get to Indy and win it once. From '21 onwards, they were firmly in 3rd place in the league, and yet that series is an aftethought because we'd soared to heights they cant really remember, and even OSU has only distant memories of now.
April 17th, 2024 at 10:32 AM ^
The 2022 Illinois win with the Moody kick was actually a really huge for the program. Not saying it was the best, but it probably deserves a mention.
April 17th, 2024 at 10:43 AM ^
I was at my son's soccer game, which coincidently had 3 other families who were Michigan fans on it. (we live in Virginia)... we were all watching the game on the ipad... and sorta watching the soccer game in front of us hahaha... everyone went into panic as the football and soccer game were both ending at about the same time. nobody moved until we watched that kick go thru
April 17th, 2024 at 10:41 AM ^
it seems cliche at this point, but the utter joy from the 2021 OSU game is hard to beat in any way. All of the B10 title games were basically formalities after the real B10 title game the week before.
But emotionally, nothing was transcendent the way 2021 OSU was.. the emotion lasted for a very long time.. to not only win, but to win convincingly like a runaway freight train. It did NOT make me think we had turned the tide the way we did for the coming 3 years.. it simply gave us a gasp of air after having our heads dunked in a toilet for 20 years. The joy I felt .. man..
The worst game, I think, has to be the MSU punt game. Just utter blech. TCU was brutal but its hard to say that losing by 6 in a playoff game is the "worst" anything. Yeah it sucked, but... circumstance mattered.
Best game I went to? NATIONAL TITLE BABY!!!!!! (easily better than Colorado State and games @Maryland alternating years)
April 17th, 2024 at 11:08 AM ^
The win over OSU in 2021 in the snow oat Michigan Stadium. It put the program on a new trajectory. I'd put the Rose Bowl come from behind win over 'Bama a close second and then the win over U-Washington to win the National Title and go 15-0.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:08 AM ^
It's a tie:
The '21 Ohio State game was the culmination of so many years of frustration, the setting, the manner in which the team played and physically dominated that game, in front of the best crowd I've been part of in four decades of attending games; what else can you say? It will sit amongst the all time wins for the program and inarguably set us on course to a National Title. Perhaps the best part is that it broke the OSU fanbase and program despite a historic 20 year run of excellence the likes of which their program has never seen.
The '24 Rose Bowl was, without a doubt, one of the greatest football games I have ever attended. Michigan overcoming numerous self-inflicted wounds to topple NICK SABAN'S ALABAMA was the perfect culmination of a three year story arc but also really Harbaugh's Michigan era, remember how things started w/ the Satellite Camps, Water Carrier Finebaum, etc, etc, etc. To beat that team, and that program, and that coach in that setting to go on to win a national title... I mean it's the freakin' Rose Bowl, we may never have another real Rose Bowl again unless they make it the championship game site, and a site of so many Michigan agonizing losses, to turn it around and to win in after the sun had set over those mountains still gives me goosebumps. Football Valhalla.
Will never forget sitting in the South EZ with my college RM and watching Ohio's final drive go awry in 2021 and realizing we slew the dragon.
Couldn't afford the 2024 RB but loved watching it and probably aged a full year in just one afternoon.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:15 AM ^
Alabama, OSU two years ago, and--maybe weirdly--Purdue for the Big Ten championship, two years ago. That game just seemed to set the stage.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:22 AM ^
OSU in 2021 - I don't think anyone believed we could beat them until we actually beat them. It had Hutchinson, the snow and our offensive line just destroying them. It is my favorite game of all time because we all needed it so badly. This past season was amazing but that 2021 game was the game I always go back to.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:25 AM ^
All great answers
2020 Ohio State needs a spot too
April 17th, 2024 at 11:33 AM ^
Incredible, how could we so quickly forget Villari's epic performance
April 17th, 2024 at 11:34 AM ^
I agree: osu 21 then rose bowl, which I was at.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
To me 42-27 and the Alabama game this past season would be equal. In the first one we got over the OSU hump, in the second one we got over the playoff hump.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:40 AM ^
The Rose Bowl may actually be the biggest M win of all time.
'21 Game changed the narrative around the program, '22 solidified it, and '23 was probably the biggest version of The Game ever - altho it's hype going in was different than its imoortance jn hindsight, where its importance was elevated by M winning the natty. So '21 and '23 are great candidates
But beating Nick Saban's Alabama in the Rose Bowl, our first out-of-conference top 5 win since 1950, and paving the way for our second ever undisputed natty? Thats it
April 17th, 2024 at 11:45 AM ^
I would rank them:
- Ohio State 2021
- Alabama 2024
- Washington 2024
- Ohio State 2023
- Ohio State 2022
- Penn State 2023
- Michigan State 2019
- Notre Dame 2019
- Florida 2016
- Michigan State 2022
April 17th, 2024 at 12:54 PM ^
That Florida game was awesome, ran all over them all day. The announcers didn't know what to say about the NFL picks on Florida's d-line.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:15 PM ^
I LOVE THIS POST!
- Beating OSU in 2021--finally beating OSU and that decisively, so there could be no doubt about who was (and still is) the better program. Normally, I'm not a dude given to crying over sportsball...but, yeah, I wept after that. What can I say? It just meant more.
- The Rose Bowl. The GOAT's last game is a loss to Michigan. It's Alabama in the Rose Bowl! So good...
- Tie: Beating OSU in 2022 and 2023. As discussed, taking OSU down at the toilet bowl in Columbus then winning the next year with once and future HC, Shannon Moore, at the helm.
There are many more--like the 2023 National Championship game or running the ball against PSU a zillion times and them not being able to stop it. But I'll throw this out there too: the game against Wisconsin in 2021. That's the game that showed the program was real, particularly the moment when the whole team started jumping to "Jump Around." I looked at that and thought, man, these guys are fearless. And they're going to win--and they KNOW they're going to win.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:33 PM ^
2021 OSU followed by 2023 Alabama and 2022 OSU.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:40 PM ^
Without the 2021 Snow game over Ohio, nothing else would have mattered. It was profound in so many ways to beat them - the way we did (almost 300 yds rushing). That may be the 2nd biggest win in UM history, trailing only the 1969 24-12 over Ohio that put Bo on the map.
I consider #2 the win at Ohio in 2022 - proved 2021 was not a fluke. Also, it was JJ's first big win where his passing (3 TDs, plus one rush TD) made a difference. The rivalry had clearly turned in our favor.
A lot of other games could be #3 but the Rose Bowl win in mine. Hearing how we "gasped" when we found out we were playing Bama. Having to put together a great drive with a tipped pass being key to tie. I'm not so sure Nick retires if he had won that game.
An underrated win was at PSU in 2021 - we had to rally to win a white out game. That kept us alive for the B1G.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:42 PM ^
- 2023 Ohio State (This is the most important game in this rivalry history.)
- 2021 Ohio State
- 2024 Alabama
- 2024 Washington
- 2022 Ohio State
"2023 Ohio State (This is the most important game in this rivalry history.)"
I agree. Ohio State 2023 was the most important win, but Ohio State 2021 is still the best.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:55 PM ^
The last one
April 17th, 2024 at 12:59 PM ^
All of them 🏆🏆🏆🏆
April 17th, 2024 at 12:59 PM ^
I agree with 21 and after that I have to go with Bama in the Rose Bowl. Amazing win and game!
Agree with OP that Ohio State 2021 is Harbaugh's best win. I will always love McNamara but we're talking about a QB that will never make an NFL roster. Finding a way to convincingly beat THAT loaded team with a jag at QB is absolutely his best win.
But, 3rd base swears it was just "one bad half in Ann Arbor" :>)
His first win vs The Great Evil. That game completely changed the trajectory of Michigan football.
#GoBlue
2021 OSU was the game that turned the 'fan meter' up to 11. I had the same feeling for that game as I did in 1969, sitting with my father in the stadium, to see the best team Woody Hayes ever had vanquished by our new coach Bo.
To continue the comparison, 2020 had been 'hopeless' and in 1968 we lost to OSU in the horseshoe 50-14 and Woody went for '2' to rub it in.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
The Rose Bowl. Being there with my son. Being there for the win.
All of ‘21, ‘22, and ‘23.
Jourdan Lewis interception against Wisconsin. And J.T. was short. And the block was clean.
Go Blue.
Another random one: but shutting out ranked Northwestern in '15 for our third shutout in a row felt like we finally, FINALLY, had Michigan Football back. Maybe not the elite level of football we were dreaming of, but after wandering the woods for nearly a decade with only 2011 as an oasis, that win really felt like holy hell we've got this thing back on track for the first time in a long time.
I was at that 2015 NW game with a college friend who has since passed from ALS. Returning the opening KO was incredible. Even with the sick loss the next week and the blowout to an angry Ohio team, 2015 was definitely a good season to re-set the program. 2016 was like 2006 all over again with the great start and awful finish.
The last home loss was 2019 vs. Ohio. The last time we went three years in a row w/o a home loss was 1970-72. We didn't have a home loss in 73, but the 10-10 tie. I'm hoping we can put up another great home season. From 70-74, we had all wins but for the one tie to Ohio.
From a different angle, the two most "important" losses - that is losses that forced a change for the better, were:
- 2020 home loss to an MSU team that had committed 8 turnovers in an ugly loss at home to Rutgers. Rocky Lombardi looked like 2009 Drew Brees in front of a bunch of cutouts. This loss started us into a nasty funk. It made Jim finally shake up the staff and bring in McDonald, Hart, Clink, etc. I remember going to the party store after the game and talking with an MSU fan who wanted to know if we could give JH a lifetime contract.
- 2021 loss at MSU. A gnarly loss. Overturned TD strip sack. Too many FGs. Sloppy tackling (though KWIII is the real deal). The team leaders (Hutch, Ross, etc.) were vocal that the locker room would not tolerate sulking and let the season collapse. That was our last B1G and regular season loss.
Since the 2021 win over UM, Sparty is 12-17. We're 33-2.
I'm going to say OSU 2023. If we don't win that game, we don't win the big ten, we don't go to the rose bowl, we don't win a national championship, and we lose at home to OSU and validate in people's minds all of the cheating accusations. In that game we set the stage for our run and we silenced many of the critics, or at least didn't give them the ammunition they desperately wanted. And the way we did it, scoring after our best player snapped his leg, and then sealing the game with an interception, holding after it felt like OSU was picking up momentum. It's difficult to imagine any game with more at stake, or a win that is more important to a program.
After OSU 2016, OSU 2021 tied with beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
As Bob Hope used to say and sing, "Thanks for the Memories".
I can't believe this seems to be an unpopular opinion but the top 3 should all be OSU. I loved the rose bowl but the simplicity of just beating OSU and ruining their season and the tradition and the narratives... perfection...
- OSU 23, 22, 21
- .
- .
- Bama 23
- PSU 23
Yeah idk, like yes rose bowl win was great but we didn't play our best game at all and alabama couldn't snap the ball. It has to be 4/5 along eith the Washington game where we did play our best game but Washington just folded.
And then yeah it's fucking ohio fuck them I'll take 1-11 with a win over ohio every season.
21 OSU - we finally got the monkey off our back
24 Rose Bowl - tremendous game
22 OSU - first win in Columbus since 2000
23 OSU
21 OSU - we finally got the monkey off our back
24 Rose Bowl - tremendous game
22 OSU - first win in Columbus since 2000
23 OSU
Definitely Ohio State in 2021. That set up everything for these magical 3 years.
I could also argue Nebraska in 2021 too. That win was one past Michigan teams just didn't win.
Definitely ohio 2021.
2021 OSU for vibes
2024 Rose Bowl for program legitimacy
The most significant win was 2021 Ohio State. It was an inflection point for the entire program.
The best win was against SEC Champion Alabama . . . in the CFP . . . in the Rose Bowl . . . sending Nick Saban out to pasture.
Pure gold.
April 19th, 2024 at 11:16 PM ^
I'm adding an important game for consideration at maybe the #5 spot: Losing to Georgia in 2021. Yes, losses can be important and this one showed the players and coaches what it would take to win. And they went out and did it two years later.