Jim Harbaugh versus Urban Meyer – A Modern Day Bo versus Woody?

Last December, Christmas came twice for University of Michigan football fans. The second celebration came when the school decided to turn back to the future and former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh agreed to become the 20th head football coach in school history. Harbaugh had coaching success as a head coach at the University of San Diego, Stanford University, and most recently with the San Francisco 49ers, so one would certainly expect Harbaugh to win at Michigan. The expectations that Harbaugh will face at Michigan will be to restore Michigan’s place atop the Big Ten Conference, competing annually for Big Ten titles, and return Michigan to the elite of college football. Undoubtedly, Harbaugh will be judged in large part by Michigan’s bowl success and even more so on how he fares against bitter archrival Ohio State. How a coach fares against his school’s primary rival affects that coach’s success, legacy and in some instances, his job security. John Cooper, head coach at Ohio State from 1988 to 2000, had a record of 111-43-4 during that time. However, his record against Michigan was only 2-10-1 and a mere 3-8 in bowl games. Without those two games at the end of each season, Cooper’s record would have been 106-25-3. Cooper’s 5-18-1 record for Ohio State’s biggest two games at the end of each season did not sit well with Buckeye fans who were left to simmer and dwell about those results for months till the start of the next season. Since 2000, Ohio State has won 12 of the past 14 games in the series including 10 out of the last 11 meetings. The last Michigan coach with a winning record against Ohio State was Gary Moeller. …

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