It's been the rare Michigan football team the past few years that's been able to turn the tide of a game.
The Wolverines are 6-14 since 2017 when tied or trailing at the half, 2-7 since 2019.
The wins came at Rutgers in 2020, vs. Army in 2019, vs. Indiana in 2018, at Northwestern in 2018, at Purdue in 2017 and against Florida at AT&T Stadium in 2017. Only two of those teams finished above .500.
What's more, Jim Harbaugh's program is 8-11 against ranked opponents since 2017, 3-12 against opponents that were ranked by the end of the season. In the face of a challenge, Michigan has struggled to raise its level of play.
If that's a culture problem, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said it's one the Wolverines are trying to fix.
In an interview Thursday with Jon Jansen on the 'In the Trenches' podcast, Gattis said he wants to see the leaders of the team set the tone following the conclusion of spring practice with an eye toward facing "adversity head-on."
"Let the alpha males emerge," he said. "Let’s have great leadership, great belief and not just great leadership when things are good, but a willingness to be able to face adversity head-on. I think that’s an area of a program as far as culture that we have to continue to emphasize. Our culture hasn’t been what we’ve wanted it to be. So you’ve seen our players taking over this spring with the energy they’ve created in practice, you’ve seen the excitement that comes from competitive nature. And that’s gotta be driven by the players, because at the end of the day those are the guys that are playing within the lines."
Gattis said the goal for Michigan entering the 2021 season is to "develop a culture that we want be known for."
"Not just one side of the ball, but for us all to grow together as a team, to have true belief in each other, true trust in each other and all be committed to one purpose. Not just committed to, 'Hey, I want the ball, if I'm not gonna get the ball then I'm gonna be upset.' When we ultimately put the team first, individual recognition will come with team success. For every guy who wants to achieve a certain goal individually, if they just put the team first, it will come.
"That’s our biggest challenge going into the offseason, is continuing to grow together as team and continue to have that belief and develop a culture that we want to have as a team and be known for.”
One of the biggest reasons for optimism for Michigan is the arrival of a pair of five-star recruits in RB Donovan Edwards and QB J.J. McCarthy. Gattis said McCarthy "has had his freshman moments, but he’s also had some big-time moments that displayed his five-star ability." And it sounds like Edwards has hit the ground running.
"If players are going to be labeled a five-star, you want them to look like something. And Donovan’s met those expectations," Gattis said. "He’s flashed each and every day on the field, not only with his ability to run the ball but his ability to catch the ball. He had a big play yesterday in practice where he ran up the sideline for 50 yards. He’s special. It’s going to take time for him to grasp the whole offense so he can continue to have that discipline and that consistency on every play but he’s going to have a very, very bright future here at Michigan."
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