For the majority of Jim Harbaugh’s time at Michigan, Wisconsin owned his number.
He departs Michigan after turning his successful coaching career into a legendary one. This year’s National Championship and three consecutive trips to the College Football Playoffs have answered calls for his resignation in 2020 and program stagnation.
Harbaugh’s ultimate record there is 89-25, with two of those victories occurring in the last four months. He is also 3-6 in bowl games.
This news will have a significant impact. It seems expected that OC Sherrone Moore will be hired, which will bring about some consistency. However, as was the case with Alabama after Nick Saban left, the whole squad will now have a 30-day window for transfers. One of the top rosters in the country may see a great deal of player movement as a result.
Prior to all of that, let’s review Wisconsin’s past versus Harbaugh throughout the previous ten years. For a considerable period of time, the Badgers possessed his number, regardless of the direction that things took after 2020.
2016: Wisconsin 7, Michigan 14.
Unbelievably, this was a top-10 matchup. The Wolverines and Badgers both started the season 4-0, with Michigan ranked No. 4 and Wisconsin ranked No. 8 in the country.
The game’s narrative: QB Alex Hornibrook of the Badgers had a difficult game, finishing 9/25 for 88 yards, one score, and three interceptions. This Michigan DB intercept The final straw was Jourdan Lewis:
2017: Michigan 10, Wisconsin 24
Wisconsin came in at 10-0 and No. 5 in the country, just a couple victories short of a trip to the College Football Playoffs. At 8-2, Michigan was No. 24 in the country and presented one of the Badgers’ few challenging opponents this season.
All afternoon, the Badgers’ defense was outstanding; they stopped Michigan and made it possible for Nick Nelson to return a kickoff and score a huge touchdown run to put the game away.
Wisconsin’s record against Harbaugh is at 1-1.
2018: Wisconsin 13, Michigan 38
This is a rather forgettable game. The Wolverines cruised to an easy victory with 17 points in the fourth quarter thanks to Alex Hornibrook, who was a turnover machine.
Under Harbaugh, Michigan’s record versus Wisconsin is at 2-1.
Wisconsin 35, Michigan 14 in 2019
Since the Russell Wilson era, this game may be considered the pinnacle of Wisconsin fandom. The Wolverines were outmatched by the No. 13-ranked Badgers in every area. Jonathan Taylor was excellent, Jack Coan was effective with both his arms and legs, and the defense forced four turnovers.Watching this play and then thinking about where we are a little over four years later is absurd:
Wisconsin draws even in the series, 2-2.
2020: Michigan 11, Wisconsin 49
After four years, this victory marked the Badgers’ third over Harbaugh. Saying that Wisconsin had a superior football program at the time wasn’t hyperbole.
The Graham Mertz period reached its pinnacle with this game as well. The Badgers were unbeatable in every aspect, and they even managed to intercept Michigan quarterback Joe Milton for one of the craziest plays I’ve ever seen.
Wisconsin had won three of the previous four games and was 3-2 versus Michigan.
2021: Wisconsin 17, Michigan 38
Things truly started to change at this point. Wisconsin had a record of 1-2 after suffering crushing defeats to Penn State and Notre Dame. Even with Mertz at the middle of the field, the squad was still quite strong.
Before Mertz was eliminated from the match, the match was a struggle; after that, it turned into a massacre. I argue that this Wisconsin squad was still competitive with Michigan; Chase Wolf’s inclusion in the game was merely a worst-case scenario.
If the Badgers had defeated Minnesota in the regular season finale, these two teams would have faced off again in the Big Ten Championship. I’m betting that the championship game would have been quite close considering the team’s recent performance.However, that never materialized; instead, Wisconsin saw a slight decline and Michigan went on to win a national championship.