The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS COLIN COWHERD COMMENTS ON STATE OF U-M VS. OSU RIVALRY Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh has a major national defender in FOX radio host Colin Cowherd, who has consistently advocated for his cause over the last several years. With the sign-stealing noise dying down in the weeks since the team's 30-24 win over Ohio State, its third straight in the rivalry, Cowherd believes that Michigan has taken complete control of the series. "More than anything, this cannot be dis- puted: Ohio State was arguably, along with Alabama, the best college football program in America about four years ago," Cowherd said on his show. "Now they are the second-best program in their own conference, the Big Ten. Jim Harbaugh has relegated Ohio State to just another team Michigan beats. "Ohio State was pushed around by Michigan for the third year in a row — and this was the 'great' Ohio State defense. It was vaunted, it was exceptional. Michigan had more than 120 rushing yards in the second half. That is owning somebody." Harbaugh has often been a lightning rod of criticism since arriving in Ann Arbor. But the host says that the victory was a program- affirming development for what he's built at Michigan. "They've got to find a way to tear him down. 'He's cheating, the scandal, the signs!' Again, without the signs, Michigan was even more dominant and scored on every second-half drive they didn't kneel," Cowherd said. "In football, Ohio State can claim a lot of things, but one thing is indisputable, as long as Jim Har- baugh remains the coach at Michigan, you may occasionally beat him, but they will have the best coach and the best culture in the series." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN TIES SCHOOL-RECORD GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE Michigan tied the school record for its Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in the latest GSR and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) reports for all NCAA Division I schools, released on Dec. 5. U-M held a four-year average GSR of 96 percent for its student-athletes, which was set last year. The 96 percent mark is 15 points higher than it was in 2010 and one point above its 2021 mark. Its four-year rolling average FGR of 83 percent also tied an all-time high that was set last year. The NCAA revealed that the four- year GSR average among Division I schools is 90 percent. Additionally, 15 of Michigan's 25 varsity programs included in the report claimed perfect scores. They are baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's cross country and track & field, men's golf, women's golf, men's gym- nastics, women's gymnastics, rowing, softball, men's swimming, men's tennis, women's tennis, volleyball and wrestling. U-M and Northwestern are the only Big Ten schools that hold perfect GSR marks in men's and women's basketball, while football's GSR score of 89 is the fourth-highest in the Big Ten. Michigan softball has posted 100 percent GSR scores in each of the past 19 reports released by the NCAA, while women's golf has been perfect for the past 16 years. Women's tennis and men's golf have been perfect for the past 14 and 13 years, respectively. Men's golf, men's gymnastics, softball and women's tennis recorded perfect FGR scores for the fourth consecutive year, and men's tennis had a perfect FGR score for the second year in a row. Both GSR and FGR are determined based on the number of student-athletes on scholarship enrolling in school each year. FGR is mandated by the U.S. govern- ment and shows the number of scholarship student-athletes who enter a school in a specific year and graduate within six academic years. FGR counts transfers and non-graduates and carries a lower number than GSR at most schools. GSR accounts for athletes that transfer into a school and does not dock uni- versities that have students who transfer out with good academic standing. — Anthony Broome MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh was lauded by FOX radio host Colin Cowherd as having "the best coach and the best culture in the [Michigan-Ohio State] series." PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER