Right now, there isn’t a single more polarizing person in all of college football than Jim Harbaugh. 

Some people still view him as a really good coach, the guy who elevated Stanford to elite status, was a play or two away from winning the Super Bowl and the dude who’s won 10 games three separate times in four seasons at Michigan. 

Many others (especially those not in Ann Arbor) see him as a complete media creation, the guy that folks on Twitter say “is the most overrated coach in the history of college football.” They see him as a coach who is paid just a notch below Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban, without any of the hardware to show for it. 

Regardless of where you stand on Harbaugh, one thing was certain watching Michigan play Saturday afternoon: They weren’t even in the same stratosphere as Wisconsin. 

From the opening whistle until the last, the Badgers completely dominated Michigan, in a 35-14 win, in a game where the final score wasn’t reflective of just how dominant Wisconsin was. The Badgers were up 35-0 before the Wolverines put up a few garbage touchdowns late.   

And with that loss, coupled with what we’ve seen through the first four years of the Harbaugh era, it’s time to face a reality: Harbaugh is a good coach, and Michigan football is in a better spot today than when he arrived. 

I know Twitter doesn't do nuance, but as I think about Jim Harbaugh, two things are reality:

He's a good coach, who has Michigan in a better place than it was when he arrived.

They will also never become elite under his watch either.

Both can be true

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) September 21, 2019

Despite that, it’s also time to accept that this program probably will never become truly elite under his watch. If the Wolverines can’t even compete with Wisconsin on the road, in Year 5 of the Harbaugh Era, it’s probably time to give up on the notion that they will ever be good enough to beat the Georgias, Alabamas and Clemsons of the world, on the way to a national title. 

Now, to be clear, that’s not to say that Harbaugh is a terrible coach. While it’d be easy to listen to the social media noise, the reality tells another story altogether. As mentioned up top, Michigan has won 10 games, in three of his four years as a head coach. There are, quite literally, 100 other schools in America who would kill for those kind of results right now (just ask any Tennessee fan). He has also made two New Year’s Six bowl games as well. 

Those certainly aren’t the expectations that college football fans had when he was hired. But considering that Michigan had won 10 games just once in the nine seasons before he arrived, he’s probably been a little bit better than most folks realize as well. 

At the same time, he hasn’t been that guy either, the one who so many thought would elevate Michigan from “whatever” to “title contender” in his time in Ann Arbor. As has been very well-documented, the Wolverines are 0-4 against arch-rival Ohio State in his four years, and have never won their own division in the Big Ten, let alone the Big Ten, itself — or sniffed a playoff berth. Considering the way things have started this season there is no reason to think any of those streaks will end this season. 

Add in the fact that Harbaugh is just 2-8 overall against Top 10 teams, and it's further proof that this regime reeks of “good, but not great,” with no reason to think things will change any time soon.

If anything, what has to be most concerning to Michigan fans is that things only appear to be getting worse, with Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium potentially revealing what rock bottom looks like.

Maybe. 

The bottom-line is that Saturday, Wisconsin dominated Michigan in every way one football team can dominate another. 

"We saw it, you saw it, the entire football world saw it, that that wasn't good enough, and it's not acceptable."

- Jim Harbaugh, on Week 4 loss at Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/JreR1yvrZU

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 23, 2019

The Badgers young offensive line – which had to replace three starters coming into the season – absolutely mauled the Wolverines at the line of scrimmage, allowing Wisconsin to rush for 361 yards, at an average of nearly seven yards per carry. 

The wild thing is that quite a few of those yards came with star Jonathan Taylor out of the game, after he cramped up early in the second quarter. Quarterback Jack Coan, just a true freshman in his third college game, did what he wanted in the pocket, completing 13-of-16 passes, while adding two rushing touchdowns. 

Even worse, the new spread offense which was supposed to “revolutionize” Michigan football appears to have done the opposite and set it back. Shea Patterson looks completely lost at quarterback (to the point that he was eventually replaced on Saturday by Dylan McCaffrey, until McCaffrey went out after a big hit) and the once-vaunted running game is completely stuck in the mud. 

The Wolverines offensive line, which was once one of the most physical in college football now can’t block anyone. Say what you want about Michigan in previous years. The offense may not have been “explosive” but at least they had an identity. This year’s identity could only be defined as “lost.”

Add in penalties, missed assignments and turnovers, and I honestly can’t name one thing that Michigan does at a high level right now. Forget beating Ohio State. It’s hard to see them beating anyone legitimate right now. 

Which also makes the next chapter of the Harbaugh era so interesting.

The truth is that Michigan is in an almost impossible situation with their coach. He isn’t Chip Kelly or Willie Taggart, a guy who is a complete disaster. But winning between 8-10 games (if that this season) and not ever beating your rivals or elite teams isn’t exactly satisfying the fan-base either. 

On the flip side, what does Harbaugh do? He’s now in Year 5, completely altered his offense, and is further away from getting the Wolverines to the top than he was the day he arrived. Does he stick it out? Does he try to sneak back to the NFL with his tail between his legs?

It will be fascinating to see what the next chapter of his career holds, but it doesn’t change the reality that right now he is a good, but not elite college coach. 

Which is exactly the problem at Michigan. 

A problem that doesn’t look like it will change under Jim Harbaugh.