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| Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh delivered on his guarantee that Michigan would beat Ohio State in 1986. |
He lead Michigan to a 21-3-1 record during his two years as the starter with his most famous win coming in the Wolverines' 1986 regular season finale with their arch rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Harbaugh and the Wolverines entered the 1986 season with not just aspirations for the Big 10 championship and the Rose Bowl, but also national title hopes as they were coming off a 10-1-1 season and final #2 ranking in the AP and coaches polls.
Under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines won their first nine games of the season but were stunned by the Minnesota Golden Gophers 20-17 one week before their showdown with Ohio State.
After their loss to the unranked Gophers, Michigan fans were pessimistic about their chances of going into Columbus and knocking off the Buckeyes, who entered the game on a nine-game winning streak after dropping their first two games of the season.
The Buckeyes were led by All-American wide receiver Cris Carter and All-American linebacker Chris Spielman and were coached by Earle Bruce, who was in his eighth season as head coach of the Buckeyes.
With his team's confidence shaken and a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line, Harbaugh guaranteed that Michigan would defeat Ohio State and go to Pasadena for the first time since the 1982 season.
The Buckeyes received the opening kickoff and given great field position as Jamie Holland returned the kick 47 yards to the Michigan 45-yard-line.
It would take the Buckeyes 10 plays to get into the end zone as quarterback Jim Karsatos hit Carter for a four-yard touchdown to give Ohio State a 7-0 lead just 4:06 into the game.
After Jamie Morris(younger brother of then Giants running back Joe Morris) returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards to the Michigan 40-yard-line, Harbaugh and the Wolverines offense come onto the field.
Harbaugh would complete four of five passes for 31 yards on a 13-play, 45-yard drive that took over six minutes and was capped off with a 32-yard field goal by Mike Gillette to cut the Ohio State lead to 7-3 with 4:18 left in the 1st quarter.
It would take the Buckeyes only 75 seconds to get back into the end zone as Karsatos hit Everett Ross for a 32-yard pass, which was followed by a 46-yard touchdown run by Vince Workman to increase the Ohio State lead to 14-3 with 3:03 to go in the 1st quarter.
It seemed like a shootout was brewing as the Wolverines drove into Ohio State territory on their next possession as Harbaugh connected with Greg McMutry for 29 yards that put the Michigan offense at the Buckeyes' 43-yard-line.
But after two straight incomplete passes forced a 3rd & 10, Harbaugh was intercepted by Buckeyes safety David Brown, whose 17-yard return got an extra five yards because of a Michigan face mask penalty, gave Ohio State the ball back at their 42-yard-line.
On the next play from scrimmage, the Buckeyes were back in Michigan territory as Workman busted loose for a 29-yard run to give Ohio State a 1st down at the Michigan 29-yard-line as the first quarter came to an end.
The Michigan defense would stiffen and force Ohio State to attempt a field goal, but Matt Frantz's 43-yard field goal attempt was short keeping it a 14-3 game.
Following an exchange of punts, the Wolverines got the ball at their 20-yard-line and were able to drive to the Ohio State 17-yard-line as Harbaugh completed passes of 24 yards to McMutry and 22 yards to Ken Higgins set up another Gillette field goal, this time from 34 yards out to cut the Buckeyes' lead to 14-6 with 6:41 left in the first half.
After forcing another Ohio State punt, Michigan got the ball at their 14-yard-line when Morris made his presence felt as he accounted for 55 yards of offense on five touches on the Wolverines' ensuing drive to set up Michigan with a 1st & goal at the Buckeyes' eight-yard-line with less than a minute left.
However, Harbaugh would throw his second interception of the game as his pass intended for Higgins in the end zone was picked off by Ohio State linebacker Mike Kee, keeping the Wolverines from coming away with any points and preserving the 14-6 Ohio State lead as the first half came to a close.
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| Ohio State wide receiver Cris Carter would catch seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns. |
Despite the two first half interceptions, Harbaugh seemed unfazed as the Wolverines got the ball to start the second half.
Starting from his 17-yard-line, Harbaugh connected with tight end Jeff Brown for 21 yards on 2nd & 8 to give Michigan a 1st down at their 41-yard-line.
Then after two runs by Morris gained 14 yards, Harbaugh hit McMutry for 11 yards and another 1st down at the Buckeyes' 35-yard-line.
Three plays later, the Wolverines were faced with a 4th & inches at the 26-yard-line.
Schembelcher decided to go for the 1st down and was rewarded for his gamble as fullback Bob Perryman picked up the 1st down on a two-yard run.
Then after a two-yard run by Morris, Harbaugh hit Perryman for 15 yards to set up 1st & goal at the Ohio State seven-yard-line.
On 2nd & goal, Harbaugh would pitch it to Morris, who ran around the right side for a four-yard touchdown to bring the Wolverines to within a point at 14-13 with 8:48 to go in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes would respond with a nine-play, 65-yard drive where Karsatos completed a pair of 18-yard passes on the drive, one to Carter and the other to Nate Harris to set up a 27-yard field goal by Frantz which increased the Ohio State lead to 17-13 with 5:26 left in the third quarter.
After Morris returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the Michigan 24-yard-line, the junior running back would break loose for the longest play of the game, a 52-yard run to the Ohio State 24-yard-line, which was followed by an eight-yard touchdown run by Morris to give Michigan its first lead of the game.
Schemebelcher decided to go for two but Harbaugh's pass for Brown fell incomplete, keeping the score 19-17 in favor of the Wolverines with 3:48 still to go in the third quarter.
The Michigan defense would force the Buckeyes to punt on their next possession to get the ball back at their 15-yard-line.
After Morris was dropped for a two-yard loss on 1st down, Harbaugh found Higgins for a 23-yard completion and a 1st down at the Michigan 36-yard-line.
Michigan still had the ball when the 4th quarter began as they faced a 3rd & 7 situation from their 39-yard-line when Harbaugh connected with Perryman for 23 yards to give Michigan a 1st down at the Ohio State 38-yard-line.
Morris would run for 20 yards on the next play from scrimmage, which was followed by a seven-yard run by Perryman, then a four-yard run by Morris to set up 1st & goal from the Buckeyes' seven-yard-line.
That is when Harbaugh handed the ball off to Thomas Wilcher, who beat the Ohio State blitz and ran it in for the Michigan touchdown to extend the Wolverines' lead to 26-17 with 12:46 to go in the game.
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| Michigan running back Jamie Morris would carry the ball 29 times for 210 yards and score two touchdowns. |
After having giving up three touchdowns on all three Michigan drives in the second half, the Buckeyes needed to put together a scoring drive of their own to give their defense a rest.
But on the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, Karsatos was intercepted by Michigan linebacker Andree McIntyre, giving the Wolverines the ball at the Ohio State 36-yard-line and a chance to put the game out of reach.
However, the Buckeyes defense, led by Spielman, did not allow a 1st down and forced Michigan to attempt a 47-yard field goal by Gillette, which was blocked by defensive tackle Darryl Lee, giving Ohio State the ball at their 44-yard-line with exactly 11 minutes to go.
Karsatos would connect with Harris for 19 yards to begin the drive, then handed it off to Workman, who ran for 14 yards to the Michigan 23-yard-line.
Then after a six-yard run by Karsatos, the senior quarterback found Carter in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown to bring the Buckeyes to within two points at 26-24 with 9:42 remaining.
Following an exchange of punts, the Wolverines got the ball back at their 39-yard-line with a chance to put the game away with 5:26 left on the clock.
The Wolverines drove to the Ohio State 41-yard-line when Wilcher lost the football after a hit by Buckeyes safety Terry White, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Sonny Gordon, giving the Buckeyes the ball at their 38-yard-line with 3:18 left in the game and a chance to drive for the game-winning score.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Karsatos found fullback George Cooper for 11 yards and a 1st down at the Ohio State 49-yard-line.
Then, Karsatos hit Carter for eight yards to put the Buckeyes into Michigan territory, which was followed by a two-yard run by Workman for another 1st down that got five yards added on to after a Michigan face mask penalty.
Following two straight incomplete passes, Karsatos found Carter found for eight yards setting up a 4th & 2 with 1:08 to go in the game.
That is when Bruce called on Frantz and the field goal unit to attempt a 45-yard field goal that would give the Buckeyes the lead.
Frantz's kicks was long enough, but his kick was wide to the left and no good, giving Michigan the ball at their 29-yard-line.
Harbaugh took three knees to run out the clock and allow for the Wolverines to come away with the 26-24 win, fulfilling his promise that Michigan would beat Ohio State and play in the Rose Bowl.
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| Harbaugh finished with 269 yards as he completed 19 of 29 passes. |
Meanwhile, Ohio State would defeat Texas A&M 28-12 in the Cotton Bowl as the Buckeyes would finish one spot ahead of the Wolverines in both final polls.(Ohio State-#7 in the AP, #6 in the Coaches; Michigan-#8 in the AP, #7 in the Coaches).
Harbaugh would spend the next 14 years in the NFL, most notably with the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts, leading the Colts to the brink of the Super Bowl during the 1995 season.
Following his NFL career, Harbaugh would go into coaching, helping rebuild the University of San Diego, then Stanford University, before becoming the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, where he complied a 44-19-1 record and led the Niners to three straight NFC championship games and a trip to Super Bowl XLVII where he lost to his older brother John and the Baltimore Ravens, before heading back to Ann Arbor where he has been the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines since 2015.
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