Among the mantras espoused by Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is the idea that teams must always respect their opponents — weekly preparation never changes because looking ahead to other parts of the schedule siphons attention away from the present.
But there were moments in the past few weeks when players referred to U-M’s nonconference schedule as a series of “warm-up games.” There’s only so much Harbaugh and his coaching staff can do to convince the Wolverines they’ll be threatened by opponents getting paid millions to visit Michigan Stadium and get pummeled.
On Saturday, Michigan completed its exhibition slate — er, non-conference slate — in the same way it began two weeks ago: A relentless dismembering of an overmatched opponent.