Jim Harbaugh explains fourth down decision in first half vs. Washington

Jim Harbaugh is not going to play scared in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. He decided to go for it on fourth down from Washington‘s 38-yard line, potentially setting the Huskies up with great field position. JJ McCarthy was not able to connect with Roman Wilson and Michigan turned the ball over.

Washington then orchestrated an 11-play touchdown drive, covering 61 yards in just over four minutes right before halftime. As both teams walk into the halftime locker room, Michigan leads by just a touchdown after feeling like they had a stranglehold on the game early on.

Harbaugh explained the fourth down decision, admitting he put the defense in a tough position. Momentum has certainly swung in favor of Washington and Harbaugh wants to capture it right back coming out of the gates.

“Playing the percentages,” Harbaugh said when talking to ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “They played great defense. We didn’t get it quite done. Put our defense in a bad spot there. But we got to get the momentum back now.”

Prior to the touchdown drive, Washington had been struggling to generate anything on offense. The last three drives resulted in nothing, going for just 38 yards on 12 plays. Michael Penix Jr. missed a key fourth down throw himself even though Rome Odunze was wide open.

A short field may have been what was required, even if it took offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb four plays in a goal-to-go situation to get the score. And it all traces back to Harbaugh’s fourth-down decision on the previous drive.

Washington will be receiving the second-half kickoff, somehow having the opportunity to tie the game on the opening drive. If you would have told Michigan that after going up 17-3 early in the first quarter, there would be a lot of head-scratching.

Taking out a sack McCarthy took, the Wolverines are averaging 13.3 yards per carry. Donovan Edwards has two long touchdowns on just two carries. While there has been recent pushback from the Washington front, Michigan has been dominant in the run game.

If we are going to have a close game, Harbaugh is going to have a few more important decisions to make in the second half. Those wearing Maize and Blue are hoping they produce better results, such as the fourth down decision in the Rose Bowl vs. Alabama.

Harbaugh has been the one to bring the program to this point and he certainly is not going to change now.