Jim Harbaugh has his team craving a national championship this season

In the past two seasons, the Michigan Wolverines football team has reached the pinnacle of the sport, only to come just short at obtaining their ultimate goal of winning a national title.

At the Pep Rally preceding the Spring Game on Saturday, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh made the mentality of this year’s team clear — the pinnacle isn’t high enough for the Wolverines.

“You never stay the same,” Harbaugh said. “You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. You never stay the same. No team that we play on our schedule is going to be the same that they were last year. Some may be better; some may be worse. This is not the time to regroup or to rest or to take a step back. Now is the time to attack.

“I think this team is the best version that we’ve had of ourselves. The phrase, ‘Strike while the iron is hot’ is at the forefront of our minds. We want to keep the ground that we have, plus we want to take some more ground.”

Harbaugh continued to emphasize the “best version” point in his speech.

Following the Spring Game, left guard Trevor Keegan agreed with Harbaugh’s assertions — emphasizing the team’s collective desire to finish the story they’ve written the past two seasons and how the team looks up to this point.

“I think it’s just the collective group of guys and coaches and the culture that we have,” Keegan said. “After last year and the year before in the semifinal games, those losses dwelled on us and I think it’s a culmination of everyone on the team and the staff — there’s just one goal in mind, and it’s to win a national championship. I think we’re at a really good trajectory right now.”

Having come so close the past two seasons, it’s obvious the Wolverines aren’t caught up in the glamor of being a contender anymore. They want to be champions and will do whatever it takes to get that ever-elusive crown.