After his initial hire and increased khaki sales around Ann Arbor, Harbaughmania, if you can call it that any place outside of the dying state of Michigan, has in my opinion come in with a whimper.
Under Harbaugh, recruiting north of the border has not seen anything more than a small bump as many of these kids, primarily midwest kids, would have MI in their Top 10s regardless of who the coach is. He did not finish strong for the 2015 class and he wasnt able to reel back in many of the big fishes that decommitted. His 2016 class, although respectible and good by mid-level BIG standards, doesnt have much pizzaz to it and lacks a big time stud. I think these young kids are starting to see MI differently than what the MI fanbase does. It took some time, but to these kids Michigan is not a wounded team. Hell, they are not a team selling potential. To these kids they are a team that in their middle school and high school years has been a college football nobody. AND ITS AWESOME!!!
Comparing this to Urban. Meyer was able to finish out his first class with a Bang grabbing Schutt, Spence, Washington and then proceeded to go 12-0 without "his" players. I see no scenario in which Harbaugh goes undefeated. I see no scenario in which he wins 10 games. I dont see him winning 8 or 9. In fact, I see them finishing with a Hokesque 7-5 season. There will be many excuses - "Harbaugh had to utilize Hoke's players", "Harbaugh didnt have enough time to recruit his players", etc. but the fact is MI, just like the 2012 Buckeyes, does not have a bare cupboard. They will forget what Urban did and will have dozens of reasons why Urban's situation was vastly different. They will forget the losing record, the bowl loss, the NCAA infranctions. None of that will matter in the MI excuse game.
I think this year will be a humbling season for MI, more humbling than the Hoke years. Their hopes are at a recent high and I cant wait for the heavy hand of reality to slap them across their smug faces. Reality being that MI is not as relavant as they think they are and that the last 5-7 years has turned MI into a team more closely resembling Iowa and Tennessee than Ohio State. I think what we will see is a team that shows glimpses of success, but just enough to frustrate their fan base. I cant wait for Sparty to beat them yet again and for OSU to roll through Ann Arbor on their way to the CFP. I am very intrigued to see what Harbaugh can do and how well he can fail.
