Michigan up 34-0 in the 4Q and trying to execute a fake punt. #karma pic.twitter.com/1B0rAdRcq1
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— Big Ten Geek (@bigtengeek) October 22, 2016
Jim Harbaugh doesn't care about running up the score and that has been on full display during the 2016 season. Earlier in the campaign, Harbaugh virtually invented a new way to pile on an opponent by faking an extra point during a 78-0 blowout win over Rutgers and, now, he is taking out his aggression on the hapless Illinois Fighting Illini.
With the Wolverines leading 34-0 on Saturday, Harbaugh elected to call a fake punt. Granted, it was 4th-and-1 from near midfield, but Michigan easily could have simply ignored the percentages, given the ball back to Illinois and probably gathered a stop in short order.
Instead, Harbaugh called a direct snap and the ball was unceremoniously fumbled. From there, the Wolverines failed to achieve the line to gain and Illinois took over with a short field. Somewhat predictably, that led to Lovie Smith's team picking up their first score of the game (on a long pass play) and many across the internet (including above) pointed to karma as the reason for the shortcomings.
Jim Harbaugh is at the helm of one of the best teams in the country and he clearly knows it. At some point, though, he may be wise to call off the dogs against teams that would generously be described as non-competitive.
