The Alabama Crimson Tide are the class of college football under the leadership of Nick Saban. While many programs around the country may not want to admit that, Alabama has established the highest possible baseline in the sport and that has not changed despite a close-fought loss to the Clemson Tigers in the National Championship game one season ago.
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With that in mind, Jim Harbaugh also has big-time goals for the Michigan Wolverines in 2017 and they apparently involve a meeting with the Tide in an important game down the line. A.P. Steadham of Scout.com brings details from Michigan's head coach:
"We're doing a neutral site game this year with the Florida Gators, in Dallas," Harbaugh said. "Our goal would be to be playing Alabama in the playoffs. They've been consistently there. No reason to expect they wouldn't be right back there again at the top.
"The thing that's on our mind is to get ourselves good. Get into the playoffs, win that championship. It's a goal we have set for ourselves."
Michigan's early-season schedule is intriguing based on that neutral site match-up with Florida but it is apparent that the Wolverines have bigger goals in mind.
The Wolverines lose quite a bit from their impressive 2016 roster, with Jabrill Peppers, Taco Charlton, Jourdan Lewis, Amara Darboh, Jake Butt, Jehu Chesson and others moving on to the NFL. With that as the backdrop, many forecast a "rebuilding" year for Michigan in 2017 but this quote signals that Harbaugh isn't a member of that camp.
