Michigan football must play their upcoming game against Purdue with the fury of a raging bull. They have been through enough Close Calls this season, and they need to play much more solid football going into the latter part of the season. The Big Ten is theirs to win if they want it, but they have played some bad quarters, some uninspired football, and struggled on offense. Michigan will disappoint their fans if they lose, but their fans will be scared if they do not beat Purdue as badly as possible. How can Jim Harbaugh get this team to play the way it is supposed to this weekend?
Why are they unstable?
Jim Harbaugh may be a good coach, but he does not seem to be a calming influence on his players. He is the kind of guy who gets the kids riled up before bedtime, tells everyone he is leaving, and lets the parents deal with the late bedtime. Harbaugh is the sort of coach who benches his quarterback only to put him back in in the same game. He talks a lot, and he brings more attention to his team than it needs. His football team is playing under a microscope, and there are so many eyes watching them that they cannot get away from the criticism. The players seem to be doing just fine, but Harbaugh needs to be a little bit more reserved if he wants his team to play well under pressure.
All the energy they expend being stressed over every little thing does not help the team perform.
Will they beat Purdue?
Michigan must beat Purdue, and this writer believes that they will. Purdue is a nice little team that is not as talented as Michigan, and the Boilermakers will likely go home having been trounced by a much better team.
If the Wolverines allow the Boilermakers to get back in the game, Purdue could start scoring unanswered points as the Michigan team gets deflated. Jim Harbaugh gets very high and very low, and that kind of behavior makes it much harder for the team to come back from a deficit or score late in the game.
How can Michigan win the Big Ten?
Michigan can win the Big Ten if they stay the course for the rest of the season. Ohio State already has a loss, and the Wolverines have been able to get out of each of their first three games with a win. Michigan should be the team to beat in the Big Ten, but they are not performing well enough at the moment to make us all think they can win their conference. A few signature wins would go a long way to showing us and the voters that the Wolverines belong. The next few games are critical, and it does not matter how bad the opponent is.
