Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore were like any college football fans last Saturday: cheering wildly for their own team, while sneaking peaks at Deion Sanders' team.
As the two suspended coaches watched No. 2 Michigan's season-opening win over East Carolina on TV at Moore's house, they couldn't help but tune in now and then to Colorado's thrilling 45-42 victory over No. 17 TCU in Coach Prime's debut with the Buffaloes. With an almost entirely rebuilt roster led by two-way star Travis Hunter and Deion's son quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Colorado took down last year's national runner-up in the Buffs' biggest win in ages.
"That was quite a performance," Harbaugh said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "And Travis Hunter, 144 plays, it was tough to take the eyes off of that game. Sherrone and I flipped over there a few times when the (Michigan) action went to commercial. It was great."
Hunter, the No. 1 recruit in the country in 2022 who followed Sanders to Colorado from Jackson State (he had been offered by Michigan), wound up with 11 catches for 119 yards on offense and three pass-breakups and a red-zone pick on defense. Harbaugh said he "loved Prime's halftime interview, too: 'If we had hit him on two more passes, the Heisman would be chilling at his crib.' That's awesome."
"144 plays (per PFF), and that was in Fort Worth, too. It was about 94 degrees down there, so it was quite a performance. It was great. I think maybe the Coach of the Year is chilling in Prime’s crib," Harbaugh said. "It's great for the game, great for college football. He’s a winner."
As for his own team, Harbaugh -- serving the first game of Michigan's self-imposed three-game suspension for allegedly misleading NCAA investigators about recruiting violations within his program -- said there were "so many positives" in the Wolverines' 30-3 win, starting with the play of quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
"The precision in the passing game, J.J. was so dialed-in," he said. "That was evident watching the game on TV and then also looking at the film. Made some great throws, the protection was really good up front, no sacks. A lot of times he had plenty of time and nobody really even near him, and there were some really complex blitzes being brought, too."
Harbaugh said he and Moore, Michigan's offensive coordinator who will back on the headset this week against UNLV, were in lockstep with quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell, who was filling in for Moore as offensive play-caller: "Sherrone and I both said at the same time, 'Play-action,' and boom, out came a play-action pass, hit Colston Loveland across the middle on a wide-open throw with every linebacker they had sucked up to the line of scrimmage. I thought that was a timely call."
Harbaugh said "everything looked smooth" for the Wolverines, whose joy "came through the TV screen in Sherrone’s basement."
"It was a heck of a day. There were times Sherrone and I, like a fan, like we would have if we were at the game, 'YEAH!!!' and jumped up and kind of startled Sherrone’s dog. A big, Husky-looking dog, he came running over and I’m petting him on the head and he’s barking at me and Sherrone’s like, 'He’s just cheering, Coach!'" Harbaugh said with a laugh.
As for where he'll watch this week's game with Moore's suspension over, Harbaugh said he's not sure yet: "Gotta check my son’s schedule and see if he’s got a ballgame."