With the 2019 season on the not-so-distant horizon, while Michigan fans are obviously excited to see the maize and blue take the field once again, the big question still remains: when will the Wolverines beat Ohio State?

When Jim Harbaugh was hired away from the NFL after the 2014 season, those ardently championing his prodigal return foresaw a return to glory for a Michigan team that had mostly struggles in the previous seven-plus years. Of course, the expectation was that Harbaugh would come in and put Urban Meyer and Ohio State on their heels after years of Buckeyes dominance — both in conference as well as over the Wolverines.

But, four games and four years later, Michigan is still winless over OSU.

Now, there’s a changing of the guard in Columbus, with Meyer retiring from the program and Ryan Day taking over. There’s an area of opportunity for Harbaugh & Co., given that Day has never helmed a program outside of the three interim games where he filled in for Meyer on game days during his suspension.

While there may be an opportunity to right the ship this year, looking back, Harbaugh doesn’t make excuses for his record vs. Meyer’s Ohio State teams. Overall, looking at the Wolverines’ performance since his arrival, Harbaugh notes that Michigan is right on track to where it’s supposed to be, with the lone exception being against Ohio State.

Speaking with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami ($ – subscription required) — who covered Harbaugh when he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers — he says that those who have decried Michigan’s record against OSU are right to do so, and that it’s helped him and his team focus on getting over that final proverbial hump.

“You welcome the accountability,” Harbaugh told Kawakami. “All you can be judged on is your record – what your record is overall, what your record is in your conference, and what your record is head-to-head matchups with other teams that you play. I think you’ll find that right now Ohio State is the only team that has a better record than us, has a better conference record than us, has the better overall head-to-head matchup with us.

“Yeah, we are – we talk about the goals that we have. We have two: win multiple championships and run a first-class program. That’s what we aspire to. We’re learning and we take accountability and we learn from it. Hope springs eternal, and we’re fired up for this season going forward. It’s been good, and now we’re gonna take it over the top.”

With Day now in charge, it doesn’t sound like Harbaugh is going to miss Meyer too much.

Continuing the conversation with Kawakami, asked about Meyer’s departure, Harbaugh notes how excellent of a coach he is — but that the off-field issues seem to be prevalent at every turn.

“Urban Meyer has had a great record, really phenomenal record everywhere he’s been,” Harbaugh said. “Also, controversy follows everywhere he’s been.”

Listen to the rest of Harbaugh’s 30 minute interview with Kawakami on The Athletic (subscription required).

While things have not gone according to plan for Harbaugh and Michigan in the Big Ten as of yet, there is a newfound expectation that 2019 could be the year that the Wolverines get everything together.

In an annual media poll released by Cleveland.com, writers covering the Big Ten anticipate that Michigan will win the conference, picking the maize and blue to finally get things done over the Buckeyes — at least from a divisional standpoint.

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