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As Michigan threatens the Big Ten with legal action, everyone needs to understand these three things about where U-M football stands at this moment.https://t.co/ccMm5zYvhB
— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) November 6, 2023
Below are a set of facts that have nothing to do with Michigan's two (!!) ongoing NCAA investigations, yet inform everything about them.
1. Jim Harbaugh estimated before the season Michigan could break the record with up to 20 players selected in next spring's NFL draft.
2. Jim Harbaugh has pursued NFL jobs each of the past two winters.
3. Michigan's schedule will never be easier than it is this season.
What does that mean?
1. Whether Michigan actually breaks the NFL draft record or not is irrelevant; by Harbaugh's own estimation, the 2023 Wolverines outfit is the most talented Harbaugh has had yet, and odds are it's the most talented he'll ever have.
2. Point 1 informs Point 2. No matter what Harbaugh says on the topic, Harbaugh's actions have made it crystal clear he'll pursue NFL jobs this winter and at some point he'll take one of them, and he could particularly motivated this offseason given that Michigan could replace nearly its entire starting lineup next season.
3. Michigan essentially plays a 2-game season this fall, which begins Saturday: at Penn State, then home against Ohio State. Next year, Michigan hosts Texas in non-conference play, then hosts USC and Oregon in Big Ten play, with road trips to Washington and Ohio State. If Michigan reaches the Big Ten title game, they won't get whatever slab of warmed-over lasagna happens to win the Big Ten West like they do now, they'll get whatever team finished first or second in the B1G standings.
My point is this: The Chicago Bulls had their Last Dance season in 1998; Michigan's Last Dance season is playing out right before our eyes.
Michigan will never have a better opportunity to win the national championship than it does this season. That doesn't necessarily mean Michigan can't or won't compete for national titles in the future, but the stars will never align again in the way they do at this very moment.
As such, every action Michigan takes between now and Jan. 9 should be viewed through that lens.
Michigan's institutional priority is to deny, obfuscate, prolong and delay through the end of this football season, and whatever happens afterward will be dealt with then.
Sue the Big Ten? Michigan's not going to sue the Big Ten, they just want the conference office to back off until after Jan. 10.
Stand up for due process? How much did Michigan president Santa Ono care about due process when the Big Ten suspended Michigan State players for fighting in the Michigan Stadium tunnel after last season's game?
This doesn't make Michigan wrong for assuming the stances it has. Given their circumstances, every other college football program would behave exactly the way Michigan is right now.
But all of us need to understand the above paragraphs and keep them in mind over the coming weeks.
