It wasn't long ago that we thought the Jim Harbaugh experiment simply wasn't going to work at Michigan. Fast forward, however, and the past two seasons have seen quite the biggest renaissance in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh's blueprint finally kicked on, borrowed heavily from mentor Bo Schembechler with a necessity to control the line of scrimmage, which the Wolverines weren't doing consistently during Harbaugh's first years on the job. But nothing has meant more to the fans than reversing the table on Ryan Day and the hated Ohio State Buckeyes, as Harbaugh has scored back-to-back wins over OSU by a combined 37 points. Especially humiliating for the the Buckeyes was last fall's loss, when the Wolverines roared from behind at the Big Horseshoe, outscoring Day 28-3 in the second half to win going away, 45-23. 

About all Harbaugh hasn't done in the great turnaround of the past two seasons is succeed in the playoffs. If the 34-10 loss to a great Georgia team in 2021 was understandable; last season's 51-45 upset loss to TCU was much less so, especially with the maddening mistakes which effectively cost Michigan the game. The only lasting benefit of that loss to the Horned Frogs is that it gives Harbaugh something to constantly remind his team about this season.

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Michigan's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Big Ten season.

Big Ten preview: Conference winner | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

2023 Michigan at a glance

• Last Year: 13-1 SU, 8-5-1 ATS, 5-8-1 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 8; Defense 7
• Win Total: 10.5 (Over -125, Under -110)
  

What do you need to know about Michigan before locking in your Big Ten futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Big Ten futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!