In a past regime, Michigan falls apart at Michigan State.
The usual subplots unfurled in East Lansing on Saturday. Michigan State players bumped into Michigan linebacker Devin Bush during walk-throughs, and Bush responded by stomping the Spartans' logo at midfield. That is what makes this rivalry nastier that most.
Then, Lightning forced a 75-minute delay in the first quarter, and the Wolverines failed to take advantage of several opportunities to build on a 7-0 first-half lead. The Spartans had just 49 total yards in the first half but tied the score 7-7 after halftime with a Michigan fumble.
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In a past regime, that would have led to a deluge of Wolverines mistakes. In other words, it looked the next Mark Dantonio special in the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Instead, quarterback Shea Patterson's 79-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones late in the third quarter changed the momentum, and No. 6 Michigan shook off No. 24 Michigan State for a 21-7 victory.
Now, you can start asking the questions that matter when it comes to the Harbaugh regime in Ann Arbor.
Are the Wolverines fit to challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten East? Can Michigan (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) win its first Big Ten championship since 2004?
The last two weeks have featured back-to-back victories against traditional Big Ten contenders Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1) and Michigan State (4-3, 2-2) erased the lazy criticisms against Harbaugh. Michigan won't finish third or lower in the Big Ten East in 2018. The Wolverines evened the series with the Spartans under Harbaugh — and it's worth knowing Harbaugh hasn't lost in East Lansing as a player or coach.
Michigan's 17-game losing streak against ranked road opponents, which stretched back to 2006, also is over. The Wolverines will get a bye week to prepare for the next eliminator challenge in the Big Ten East against Penn State on Nov. 3. In short, the Wolverines are a contender heading into November.
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That Patterson touchdown pass to Peoples-Jones is symbolic, too. It showed Harbaugh's faith in a quarterback who'll need to make more plays like that in order to accomplish the larger goals that have hung over the program through the end of the Lloyd Carr era. Consider Michigan hasn't beat Michigan State and Ohio State in the same season since 2003 — the year it won an outright Big Ten championship (the Wolverines shared the title with Iowa in 2004).
Patterson, who passed for 212 yards with two touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over against the Spartans, is the quarterback who can do it.
Michigan got back in that spot by taking back the in-state rivalry. Dantonio led Michigan State to eight victories in the last 10 seasons before Saturday, including one of the most dramatic finishes in series history. He has a real challenge in Harbaugh now. Harbaugh needed this win to silence critics knocking his 1-5 record against the Spartans and Buckeyes, but the program needed this win much more. The Wolverines earned that by out-gaining Michigan State 395-94 and preventing the Spartans from converting a single third- or fourth-down conversion attempt on 13 tries. Michigan dominated the time of possession battle, too.
It still wasn't easy, and the Spartans will never be an easy out for the Wolverines as long as Dantonio is the coach. Michigan State have won the Big Ten championship and reached the College Football Playoff in the last five years.
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That's the next step for the Wolverines, and the launch point remains the real challenge. Ohio State has owned Michigan between the Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer eras, and the Wolverines haven't won in Columbus since 2000. At minimum, it's shaping up to be a sequel to the 30-27 double-overtime thriller at The Shoe two years ago. The Buckeyes' loss to Purdue on Saturday makes The Game that much more intriguing.
Are the Wolverines fit to challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten East? Can Michigan win its first Big Ten championship since 2004?
In the past two regimes, those weren't legit questions.
With Harbaugh, you can finally ask that of Michigan again.
