I was bouncing post ideas off my brother last night when he mentioned he didn't know much at all about Jim Harbaugh's playing career. I realized that outside of the pre-OSU guarantee, I didn't either—after all, Harbaugh's senior season occurred a year before I was born. I'm sure I'm not alone here, so I thought I'd do a series of posts on Harbaugh's best games at Michigan, with a huge assist from the incomparable WolverineHistorian.

The natural place to begin, of course, is Harbaugh's first start, when Michigan opened their 1984 season against the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes.

The Highlights: Part One, Part Two (WolverineHistorian)

The Setup: After winning the 1983 national title under Howard Schnellenberger, Miami looked to continue their dominance with Jimmy Johnson at the helm after Schnellenberger bolted for the fledgling USFL. By the time the 'Canes traveled to Ann Arbor, they'd already begun the season 2-0, defeating #1 Auburn and #17 Florida to rise to the top of the polls—and extend their winning streak to 13 games.

Michigan entered the game ranked #14 in the country after going 9-3 in 1983. Much of the pre-game attention centered on Harbaugh, the kid with deep Michigan roots making his first start after attempting just five passes as a freshman backup to Steve Smith. Bo Schembechler went so far as to say his team could throw the ball around 25, maybe even 30(!), times in a game.

[Hit THE JUMP.]

The Game: This didn't go down as one of the all-time great contests, as turnover issues plagued both teams, especially Miami. The Wolverines struck first following a 'Canes fumble, with two critical throws by Harbaugh—including the dart to the far sideline GIF'd above—setting up a six-yard touchdown plunge by Bob Perryman. Michigan missed the extra point, a sign of the sloppiness to come.

Star Miami QB Bernie Kosar tossed a bad interception to Doug Mallory, fumbled on a sack by Tim Anderson, and had a tipped throw picked by Rodney Lyles in the first half, but Michigan wasn't able to turn those turnovers into points, carrying a 6-0 lead into halftime.

What transpired in the second half later inspired a lengthy passage on "sudden change situations" in Bo's Lasting Lessons. Miami struck early in the half on a touchdown pass to All-American Eddie Brown, then a Harbaugh interception set them up in Michigan territory again, but the defense forced a three-and-out.

A second Perryman touchdown gave the Wolverines a 12-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Harbaugh's second interception, a throw to the flat that hit a defender in the numbers, set Miami up near midfield. The defense came up huge again when lineman Mark Hammerstein recovered from a cut block to pluck a screen pass out of midair then rumble his way to the Miami 25. It was Michigan's fourth interception of Kosar, and this time they'd capitalize on yet another short scoring run by Perryman, set up by a roughing the kicker call.

Miami responded by covering 80 yards in just 36 seconds, capped by a 44-yard Kosar touchdown pass to Stanley Shakespeare to cut the lead to 19-14, and their subsequent stop of the Michigan offense provided a chance to avoid the upset. Rodney Lyles would have none of it, however, intercepting Kosar deep in Miami's end to set up a Bob Bergeron field goal, then cutting the 'Canes last-gasp drive short with his third pick.

Michigan ran out the clock to seal a 22-14 victory that would vault them all the way to #3 in the polls.

The Harbaugh: This wasn't a tremendous statistical game from Harbaugh—11/21, 162 yards, 2 INTs—but he showed off his strong arm on several occasions. He certainly outplayed Kosar, who finished just 16/38 for 228 yards, 2 TDs, and 6 INTs, with a lost fumble to boot. Most importantly, he won his first start, and those don't come easy when opening against the reigning champs.

The Most '80s Screencap of the Game: Jimmy Johnson's hair—which hasn't moved in three decades, so you can't claim it's not an '80s thing—and Bo's aviators, plus the hilariously outdated Katz Sports graphics package, combine for one hell of an image:

I'll end the post on that note, and ask for your suggestions for future posts in this series.