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Jim Harbaugh getting shredded for clock management late in Fiesta Bowl
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jim Harbaugh and Michigan trailed TCU 51-45 in what’s turned out to be an exciting Fiesta Bowl.
The Wolverines cut it to a 6-point deficit with just over 3 minutes remaining. With Harbaugh having 3 timeouts left on the Horned Frogs’ ensuing possession, he opted not to call them until a series of runs by TCU to bleed time. By the time he used his 1st one, there was 1 minute, 7 seconds left in regulation.
The Wolverines eventually used up all their timeouts with 59 seconds left and eventually got the ball back following a punt needing a touchdown, one that ultimately didn’t come as TCU held on to win and advance to the national championship game.
There seemed to be a reasonable explanation as to why Harbaugh didn’t decide to stop the clock and at least give J.J. McCarthy and the Michigan offense a little more time to get to the end zone:
Whether you call the timeout after the first down conversion or wait until after the first down play, it didn’t matter. You only have 3. Time remaining is the same. A lot of Twitter outrage for no reason. Happens often.
— Matt Schick (@ESPN_Schick) January 1, 2023
Harbaugh managed those timeouts perfectly. Didn’t waste one as they approached a likely first down…and didn’t waste one after they got the 1st to save a few seconds.
Nice job by a veteran coach in utilizing his timeouts. #TCUvsMICH
— Rob Edwards (@RobertDEdwards) January 1, 2023
Still, there was plenty of confusion about why Harbaugh opted to preserve his timeouts:
Barring something crazy, this Michigan coaching performance is going down in the annals of all-time botch jobs. Beginning to end it has been horrendous.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 1, 2023
Did Jack Harbaugh just say "what is he doing?"
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) January 1, 2023
Khaki pants Jim Harbaugh messing up with the time outs
— Barry Harris (@buckeyeguy124) January 1, 2023
Can no one understand that you cannot let a minute tick off the clock when you have three time outs? What is #JimHarbaugh doing?
— Mike Robbins (@mrobbins21) January 1, 2023
Jim Harbaugh with his time outs: #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/GjJZUm4hGw
— Chris Landry (@chris_m_landry) January 1, 2023
Apparently Jim Harbaugh gets a year-end bonus if he finishes the year with time outs left over
— Wolf of M Street (@WolfofMStreet) January 1, 2023
Jim Harbaugh hates time outs
— Parker Moore (@mooretosee) January 1, 2023
JIM HARBAUGH took a long time to call time out
— Landon (@ousoftball886k1) January 1, 2023
It’s late May in Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh awakens suddenly from a deep sleep and exclaims “time out!”
— Jason Botelho (@Jason_Botelho) January 1, 2023
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
