What Ohio State has done to Jim Harbaugh’s legacy
By Ryan Stano
Harbaugh was hired to beat Ohio State and has yet to do so. His legacy has taken a big hit, and that’s all thanks to the Scarlet and Gray.
Ohio State had an issue in the ’90s. They had really talented teams, especially in the middle to late part of the decade. But they couldn’t beat Michigan. John Cooper’s teams always seemed to come up short in The Game, even when favored by a large margin.
Out went Cooper and in came Jim Tressel. Tressel was extraordinary against TTUN. In fact, in the 10 years he coached Ohio State, he only lost to TTUN once. He was the Michigan killer that Cooper never was. He turned the tide in the rivalry.
That continued with Urban Meyer after one year coached by Luke Fickell. Meyer famously went 7-0 against TTUN. The only times his squad came close to losing was in 2013 when they stopped Michigan from converting a two-point conversion and the famous double-overtime game of 2016.
Jim Harbaugh was only involved in one of those games, which was the 2016 affair. That game is the closest Harbaugh has ever come to beating his rival as a head coach. In fact, he has gotten spanked more than he’s come close.
The last two seasons, Harbaugh has lost to the Buckeyes by a combined score of 118-66. The worst part for him is that last year’s game wasn’t even coached by Meyer; it was coached by current head coach Ryan Day. His window to beat Ohio State seems to have passed him by,
Because of his inability to beat Ohio State, Harbaugh’s legacy has taken a major toll as a college football coach. He can’t seem to develop quarterbacks effectively. He seems too stubborn to change his offense to make it more effective. It’s certain he gets outcoached every meeting with Ohio State.
As an Ohio State fan, it’s great to see Harbaugh’s futility against the Bucks continue. I hope he stays the coach at Michigan forever. But as any Buckeye fan would tell you, you can’t let up your guard. As soon as that happens, the tide in the rivalry turns again.
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Ryan Day will do his best to make sure that never happens. And if he succeeds, Harbaugh might be looking for a new job sooner rather than later.