Sometimes something is so obvious that, regardless of how much it may pain you to let the words roll off your lips, you just have to acknowledge it and move on. Such is the case for Jim Harbaugh when it comes to the current pecking order of Power Five football in the state of Michigan.
From the first time the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry was played in 1898 until 2007, the Wolverines absolutely owned the Spartans, leading the series 67-28-5. That century-long dominance led to the infamous “Little Brother” moniker being slapped on Sparty and hanging around its neck like an 800-pound albatross.
In 2008, Rich Rodriguez‘s first season in Ann Arbor coincidentally enough, the tide quickly began turning in favor of the Spartans. Since a loss in 2007, MSU has ripped off wins in six of the last seven games, with five of those coming by double figures.
MSU is now a Big Ten power, while UM is looking up at not only its in-state rival but its hated rival -- and 2014 College Football Playoff champion -- Ohio State as well. Speaking to area high school coaches in Detroit Wednesday, Harbaugh took a detour from his usual SOP, tipping his cap in the general direction of East Lansing and the current balance of football power in the state.
“We know we’re not the biggest guy on the block (right now),” Harbaugh said by way of mlive.com. “Michigan State’s the biggest guy on the block.”
“Rightfully so, rightfully so,” the coach added before going into full-blown recruiting mode. “They’ve done a tremendous job and we respect the job that they’ve done. But we want that. We want it. And we ask for your help in doing that. We want Detroit players at the University of Michigan. We’ve got a great history of Detroit players (at Michigan), and not just for football, we want them to get an education. We want to educate your players and we want them to succeed.
“Not just with football, but as great people.”
When it comes to the lifeblood of a football program, the recruiting trail, Harbaugh & Company are gaining momentum. Working on a tight time frame after his January hiring, Harbaugh pulled in the No. 50 recruiting class in the country this past February after that class was ranked 75th exactly a week before National Signing Day. For the 2016 cycle, the Wolverines are somewhere in the neighborhood of 35th(ish) nationally, depending on the recruiting service -- the Spartans are Top 10, incidentally, after a Top 25 class in 2015.
That said, it may take a bit of time for the in-season results to catch up with the wildly optimistic -- some would say way too wildly optimistic -- offseason expectations.