Jim Harbaugh expects Alabama to make the Playoff, claims Michigan's goal is to face them
Michigan continues to trend in the right direction under head coach Jim Harbaugh, but so far, have yet to achieve any wins of national significance during his first two seasons in Ann Arbor.
Taking that into consideration, it’s somewhat ironic that the Wolverines open the 2017 season against the opponent Harbaugh’s Michigan team got arguably its biggest win over — the Florida Gators. Harbaugh led the Wolverines to a 41-7 win over the Gators in the 2016 Citrus Bowl but he is currently 0-2 against archrival Ohio State and capped last season’s campaign with a loss in the Orange Bowl to Florida State.
While in Mobile recently, where he was inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, Harbaugh gave an interview to A.P. Steadham of Bama Mag. Steadham asked the Michigan coach if he would be interested in playing Alabama in a neutral-site non-conference game in the future. Harbaugh answered yes, but hopes the meeting comes together in the College Football Playoff.
“We’re doing a neutral site game this year with the Florida Gators, in Dallas,” Harbaugh said. “Our goal would be to be playing Alabama in the Playoffs. They’ve been consistently there. No reason to expect they wouldn’t be right back there again at the top.
“The thing that’s on our mind is to get ourselves good. Get into the Playoffs, win that championship. It’s a goal we have set for ourselves.”
The two national semifinal games this season will be held Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. While a semifinal matchup of Michigan and Alabama would be entertaining for sure, it would only be topped by those two fan bases if the two met in Atlanta for the Jan. 8 National Championship Game.
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Alabama will surely be one of the favorites to make the playoffs. When you finish first in recruiting seven years in a row and have the on field success they have had, expectations are high. I don’t see Michigan as a serious contender for next season, even though they will be highly ranked in the preseason. They lose a ton of talent and didn’t do a whole lot with what they had.
Jimbo, you need to worry about Urban Meyers Buckeyes before targeting Bama.
And State Penn, and the Mich. State…. and Florida…..
Shut up Harbaugh. You guys backed out of a home and home series with Arkansas for a severly down Notre Dame program. You havent earned the right to play Bama
And Arkansas would have beat them like a rented mule
Is there any coach in cfb more hated than Jim Harbaugh?
Some people would say Saban and Meyer are more hated, but at least they’ve won a championship.
It’s between him and Bob Stoops as who is public enemy number one.
Well, let’s give ol’ Jim another few years rounding up talent at southern football summer camps & he may accumulate enough team speed and athleticism to make his dreams come true. And I imagine anyone who saw the Wolverines lose to the Seminoles this past season would agree.
I actually think, at this point, Michigan is a realistic pick. It’s more than likely them or OSU, unless Penn ST keeps improving (I’m not sure what they lost). I think OSU should be the favorite, considering what they return. That was a young Buckeye team last year.
Michigan Wolverines: One half of a national championship since World War 2, yet think they are still the best program.