Harbaugh Named Finalist for Bear Bryant Award Coach of the Year
12/13/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
HOUSTON, Texas -- University of Michigan J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh was named by the American Heart Association as a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards Coach of the Year on Tuesday (Dec. 13).
This is the second time that Harbaugh has been a finalist for this award (2016). Coach Lloyd Carr (1997) is the program's lone winner.
Harbaugh has guided the Wolverines to a school-record 13 wins in 2022. Michigan is ranked second in the country and has been selected to play in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against No. 3 TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinal on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2 p.m. PT).
U-M won its second straight Big Ten Championship with a 43-22 victory against Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 3. The Wolverines went 9-0 during the regular season in conference play, winning all five games at home and four on the road, including a 45-23 season-ending victory at No. 2 Ohio State to win the Big Ten East Division. The nine Big Ten regular-season wins are the most for a Michigan team since the conference went to an extra game.
The Wolverines have been one of college football's most balanced squads, having out-gained their opponents by more than 175 yards per contest (453.5 yards to 277.1 yards) and are tied for the national lead in fourth-quarter points (12.7 avg.). U-M leads the nation in scoring differential (+27.2 points per game) and is joined only by Alabama among teams in the top 10 of both scoring offense and scoring defense. Michigan ranks seventh in scoring offense (40.1 avg.) and fifth in scoring defense (13.4 avg.).
Twenty-two (22) Wolverines received All-Big Ten recognition, including 12 players with first- or second-team honors. Four players have earned All-America status: Blake Corum, Olusegun Oluwatimi, Jake Moody and Mike Morris.
