Jim Harbaugh admits 2015 loss to Michigan State football still haunts him

Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh admitted on a podcast recently that the 2015 loss to Michigan State football still haunts him.

Oct. 17, 2015. That is a date that will definitely live famously in Michigan State football history.

That, of course, was the day of the 108th meeting in the Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry. The No. 7 Spartans were undefeated at the time heading to Ann Arbor to take on the No. 12 Wolverines. The Wolverines came into the game at 5-1 under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh and they were playing well. ESPN’s College GameDay was in town and things were shaping up to have another all-time match up on our hands.

What happened that night was something I don’t think anyone could ever have dreamed up, however.

Of course Spartan fans know it. I’m talking about the famed “Trouble with the Snap” game. The game. Michigan State fans were elated to watch their Spartans escape defeat with a miraculous 37-yard muffed punt returned for a touchdown as time expired. The Spartans won 27-23 and advanced to 7-0 on the season. This game ultimately propelled them to an 11-1 record in the regular season and eventually a Big Ten Championship. Also, it earned them a College Football Playoff berth where they eventually were defeated by Alabama.

‘Trouble with the Snap’ continues to live on in history as one of the craziest endings to any college football game ever — especially a Michigan vs. Michigan State game. Any Spartan fan can tell you where they were when that play happened and the fond memories for that. That play made legends out of players like Jalen Watts-Jackson and Grayson Miller. Of course it also added another notch in the cap of Mark Dantonio and his favorite game of each season.

With one side being so joyous when it comes to an outcome, of course you can imagine the other side does not have the same fondness of that day. That certainly was the case for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

Who can forget the stunned look on Harbaugh’s face as the play unfolded? Any doubt of how he felt that day was put to rest today when Harbaugh was interviewed on the Barstool Sports podcast “Pardon My Take”.

Check out this clip below with Coach Harbaugh mentioning the play.

Jim Harbaugh calls the “Trouble With The Snap” in 2015 a top five worst moment in his life😂 pic.twitter.com/41C6c5RZFS

— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) August 5, 2024

“Im not fully over that….it was probably. I mean. It’s one of the top five worst things that ever happened to me in my life.”

Powerful words from Harbaugh that I imagine probably bring a smile to Michigan State football fans’ faces. Let’s not sugarcoat it, the rivalry game between MSU and the school down the road is absolutely unhinged at times. We hate them. They hate us. Hearing this as a fan is awesome.

All jokes aside, if something like this is on your list of top five worst moments of your life, that means that Harbaugh has had a pretty good life overall. PFT said that in the video and I agree wholeheartedly. Kudos also are in order to Big Cat and PFT from Barstool for a great job on the interview. Check out their show to hear the full interview with Harbaugh.

As for us MSU fans, I hope this made your day just a little bit better. I know it did for me.