JIM HARBAUGH LOSES TO BRADY HOKE IN FIRST-YEAR PERFORMANCE RECORD

The college football regular season is over, and it's time to shower Jim Harbaugh with accolades for the wonderful job he did in his first year as Head Coach of Michigan Football. The sports media starting singing his praises before he left the field after losing by four touchdowns to his arch-rival.

But, as good as some folks want to say he did in 2015, Harbaugh did not match the first-year success of BRADY HOKE in 2011:

• UM: 9-3 in first year under Harbaugh
• UM: 10-2 in first year under Hoke

The Hokey Wolverines finished 11-2 with a victory over Ohio STATE and a bowl win. Harby cannot match that record in the history books. Hoke rode the Rich Rodriguez recruits to the stellar first season, while Harbaugh was riding on Hoke's outstanding recruiting classes this year.

Bottom Line: HOKE DID BETTER.

First-year coaches often get a surge out of the regime-change, newfound enthusiasm, and breaking old habits with new systems. John L. Smith comes to mind, as he started out 7-1 in his first season at Michigan State. Smith never experienced anything close to the success he had right at the very beginning of his MSU career.

The second and third seasons are often much more revealing than the debut campaign. The "novelty" of Harbaugh will gradually fade as the reality of a third-place division finish settles in, and perhaps people begin to wonder a bit about things like pouring gatorade on cereal, calling steak a "vitamin", and running around shirtless with a bunch of high-school boys. Oh, and the sideline antics, of course. Things that drift into the background while victories are piling up tend to move closer to center-stage when reality inevitably comes more into focus.

Is "Harbaugh Hysteria" over? Maybe, maybe not.

(We can only HOPE!!!)

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