Harbaugh History: Win No. 42 vs. Iowa (2019)

Jim Harbaugh has completed five seasons in charge of the Michigan Wolverines with consistent but not exciting results. He has amassed a .723 winning percentage with each year ending between eight and 10 wins. Though the maize and blue faithful may be hoping for something more, this is not the time to dwell on the negatives!

With plenty of time to kill during the offseason, join us as we review each of Harbaugh’s 47 wins as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. While the losses do exist — and are often more memorable than the victories, unfortunately — they are not very fun to relive so I am skipping them because this is supposed to be a happy exercise!

Setting the stage: 3-1 (1-1 B1G)

Iowa entered the Big House undefeated and once again looked to bother the Wolverines. In typical Big Ten fashion, both teams were led by their defense, as the scoring was over less than five minutes into the second quarter. While it felt good to beat a quality opponent, No. 19 Michigan may have been a little fortunate come out ahead over the No. 14 Hawkeyes in a 10-3 battle.

Three takeaways

1. The offense did not get a whole lot done, scoring just 10 points while missing a couple of field goals. Shea Patterson could not get much going and had no touchdowns to go with an interception. He did hit Nico Collins on a long 51-yard pass to set up a Zach Charbonnet touchdown, but the rest of the game was unimpressive from the entire unit.

2. On the flip side, the defense was obviously staunch. Quarterback Nate Stanley dinked and dunked his way to 260 yards on 42 attempts, but his three interceptions really limited Iowa’s output. Josh Metellus and Ambry Thomas were two of the lucky recipients, but it was a perfectly played Lavert Hill pick that ended a decent looking Hawkeye drive right before halftime.

3. The Michigan run defense was dominant as well, holding Iowa to 66 non-sack rushing yards. Though the Wolverine offense failed to threaten after the third quarter, the defense was willing to carry the load as the team tallied 13 TFL, four pass breakups, and a fumble to go with the aforementioned interceptions, keeping the visitors out of the end zone all game.

Standout performer

It seemed like Stanley was on the ground constantly, as the defense was unrelenting. Kwity Paye, Jordan Glasgow, Cam McGrone, and Aidan Hutchinson combined for eight sacks and numerous pressures, setting back Iowa drives and forcing inaccurate throws all afternoon. Everyone chipped in as the Wolverines were not shy about bringing the pressure early and often.

Highlights