As official visits commence this upcoming weekend, let’s take a look at the five most important recruits officially visiting Michigan this summer.
Michigan
What is Nick Saban’s record vs. Michigan? Revisiting history between Alabama coach, Wolverines
Monday’s Rose Bowl Game won’t have the primetime treatment of the Sugar Bowl, but it is arguably the biggest game remaining in the 2023 college football season outside of the College Football Playoff national championship.
That is due, in no small part, to the teams, players and coaches involved in the Granddaddy of Them All. No. 4 Alabama (12-1, 8-0 in SEC play) has faced criticism it isn’t deserving of its playoff berth, while the team it faces, top-ranked Michigan (13-0, 9-0 Big Ten) has been mired in its own controversies this season.
And, of course, any time Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh face off, it’s appointment viewing.
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Monday’s Rose Bowl semifinal will be only the sixth time between Alabama and Michigan. But for Saban, it’s yet another run-in with an old Big Ten nemesis. His history against the Wolverines long predates his time leading Alabama, reaching back through time when he was still an assistant and head coach in the Big Ten.
Here’s a look back at Saban’s all-time appearances, record and results vs. Michigan:
What is Nick Saban’s record vs. Michigan?
Saban is 7-7 all time in games coached against Michigan, including 3-4 as an assistant and 4-3 as a head coach. His is a well-documented history against the Wolverines, but it didn’t begin either at Alabama or Michigan State, where he was both an assistant (1983-87) and head coach (1995-99).
It began instead in 1980-81, when he was in the first of two seasons as Ohio State’s defensive backs coach under Earle Bruce. The Buckeyes went 1-1 vs. Michigan with Saban on the staff, dropping the 1980 game 9-3 before winning 14-9 in 1981.
After a one-year stint at Navy in the same position, Saban returned to the Big Ten, this time as the defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator for the Spartans. Michigan State went 2-3 with Saban on staff from 1983-87, and he wouldn’t see the Wolverines again until he was a head coach at MSU in 1995.
Saban opened his tenure with a forgettable 6-5-1 record, but punctuated his first season with a shocking 28-25 upset over No. 7 Michigan. The Wolverines went on to beat Saban’s MSU teams each of the next three seasons in 1996-98, winning by an average margin of just over two touchdowns. But Saban got the last laugh while with the Spartans, downing Lloyd Carr’s third-ranked Wolverines team 34-31 in 1999. (Michigan went on to beat Alabama in the 2000 Orange Bowl to cap off a 10-2 season).
Curiously, both Alabama and Saban’s next game vs. the Wolverines came in the 2012 Cowboys Kickoff Classic, when he led the Crimson Tide vs. Brady Hoke-led Michigan. His rematch against his old Big Ten nemesis produced a similar result to 1999, with Alabama downing the Wolverines 41-14.
Saban’s most recent matchup vs. Michigan was in the 2020 Citrus Bowl, when Alabama beat Michigan 35-16 thanks to a last-second touchdown with the game already well in hand.
COLUMN: Why Alabama will beat Michigan in Rose Bowl and advance to Texas rematch in CFP | Goodbread
What is Nick Saban’s record vs. Jim Harbaugh?
Saban and Harbaugh have coached against each other just once in their respective careers. Their lone meeting was in the Citrus Bowl, though it’s worth mentioning the backdrop of that game (and why Saban later faced questions of whether he ran up the score).
In May 2016, Saban spoke out against satellite camps and the NCAA rule that allowed head coaches to attend as guest instructors — a loophole that Harbaugh used extensively to his advantage. Speaking on the practice, Saban said at the time
“I don’t know how much it benefits anybody because all the people that say this is creating opportunities for kids, this is all about recruiting,” Saban said. “That’s what it’s about. … What’s amazing to me is somebody didn’t stand up and say here’s going to be the unintended consequences of what you all are doing.”
Harbaugh later fired back at Saban:
That said, Saban had prior run-ins with Harbaugh: Their paths briefly converged in the mid-80s when Saban was the Spartans’ defensive coordinator. Harbaugh, of course, was a quarterback on Bo Schembechler’s Michigan team from 1982-86.
Saban’s defenses went 2-3 vs. Michigan from 1983-87, including 1-2 vs. Harbaugh when he was the starting quarterback from 1984-86. Saban’s only win vs. Michigan with Harbaugh helming the offense came in 1984.
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Nick Saban all-time results vs. Michigan
Here is an all-time look at Saban’s appearances and results vs. Michigan, including as an assistant at Ohio State and Michigan State; head coach of the Spartans; and head coach at Alabama.
Results were as head coach unless otherwise specified.
- 1980 (Ohio State DBs): Michigan 9, Ohio State 3
- 1981 (Ohio State DBs): Ohio State 14, Michigan 9
- 1983 (Michigan State DC): Michigan 42, MSU 0
- 1984 (Michigan State DC): MSU 19, Michigan 7
- 1985 (Michigan State DC): Michigan 31, MSU 0
- 1986 (Michigan State DC): Michigan 27, MSU 6
- 1987 (Michigan State DC): MSU 17, Michigan 11
- 1995 (Michigan State): MSU 28, Michigan 25
- 1996 (Michigan State): Michigan 45, MSU 29
- 1997 (Michigan State): Michigan 23, MSU 7
- 1998 (Michigan State): Michigan 28, MSU 17
- 1999 (Michigan State): MSU 34, Michigan 31
- 2012 (Alabama): Alabama 41, Michigan 14
- 2020 (Alabama): Alabama 35, Michigan 16
As temperatures rise in Michigan each summer, so to do the chances of harmful algal blooms (HABs) developing in our lakes, causing a risk to both ecosystems and public health.
HABs are formed wherever there is rapid growth of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which are naturally found in lakes, rivers and ponds. Some cyanobacteria found in blooms contain toxins that can be harmful to people and animals, and often present as blue-green, yellow or brown streaks, foam, or thick paint-like scums on the water surface, according to the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
To help keep track of these harmful algal blooms across the state, EGLE has teamed up with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to update its online reporting form to include harmful algal blooms. Now the public can easily report suspected HABs to the state by filling out the form at Michigan.gov/HABs. Individuals can also make a report by calling EGLE’s Environmental Assistance Center at 800-662-9278.
“This new online form is an easy and efficient way for Michiganders to help monitor and safeguard our water resources,” said Jerrod Sanders, director of Water Resources Division at EGLE, in a news release. “This tool improves efficiency and helps us respond to potential risks more effectively.”
It will also allow EGLE and MDHHS staff to better understand how HABs develop, and creates the potential to send out public notifications about what areas to avoid as a way of keeping people and pets safe when they’re detected.
Breathing in or swallowing water with HAB toxins can cause asthma-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, runny eyes and nose, weakness, headaches or dizziness. Skin contact can also cause rashes, blisters or hives.
“If you had contact with or swallowed water with a suspected HAB and feel sick, call your health care provider or seek medical attention as soon as possible,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.
Locations of HAB reports verified by EGLE and results of cyanotoxin testing will be displayed on the Michigan Harmful Algal Bloom Reports Map for the public to review.
For more information on health effects, causes and reports on the occurrence of HABs in Michigan lakes, visit Michigan.gov/HABs.
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KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Beach season is here, and Lake Michigan is the most popular of the Great Lakes for swimming. However, it can also be the most dangerous.
According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, 81 people drowned in the Great Lakes in 2025. 36 of those drownings, or almost half, happened in Lake Michigan.
“Even an Olympic swimmer is not going to swim against the rip current,” Pat Whelan, Plainwell district supervisor for the Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation Division, said.
What makes a rip current so dangerous is the natural instinct to try and swim back to shore. However, it is not the way to escape.
“It’s a term called ‘flip, float, and follow,’ where you flip on your back so you can breathe,” Whelan said. “Follow that, float on the top of that current and follow it out into the lake until you can feel it release you. Then you’re going to swim parallel to the shore, and then the waves themselves will help push you back into the shore.”
It’s been more than 20 years since Andy Fox, 17, drowned in a rip current at Grand Haven State Park, but the pain is still fresh for his mother, Vicki Cech, who rarely goes to the beach.
“When I have company in, sometimes I’ll walk out on the pier, but as a rule I just don’t go there anymore,” Cech said. “Not that beach, because that one does have a lot of sad memories for me.”
Pictured is Andy Fox, 17, in this undated photo. Fox drowned in a rip current at Grand Haven State Park in 2006. (Cech/WWMT)
Compared to other Lake Michigan beaches, Grand Haven State Park has added safety features as conditions are known to change rapidly.
Grand Haven uses the color warning system, but at other beaches, they have flags.
At Grand Haven State Park, however, there is an electronic lighting system on an orange tower. When the life ring on that tower is pulled, Ottawa County dispatch is alerted right away.
Blue towers on the beach are equipped with cameras, providing a video feed of what is happening where the life ring was pulled.
Electric lights instead of flags are used to alert people of swimming conditions at Grand Haven State Park.
“They can push the bottom and actually talk back and forth with central dispatch,” Whelan said.
Alongside these additions, Cech would like to see lifeguards on Grand Haven’s beaches.
“I know there’s all kinds of different things we have down there. Life rings closer to the water and everything like that,” Cech said. “But I’d say the only thing which I see South Haven has finally gotten lifeguards, the ultimate would be lifeguards.”
Michigan got rid of lifeguards at state parks in the 1990’s. The DNR said it was a combination of cost and liability concerns.
South Haven, however, welcomed lifeguards back to the city’s beaches for the first time in 25 years on Monday.
Those lifeguards do not yet have chairs and towers yet, but they will be posted between each flag section, with green, yellow and red colors marking that day’s swimming conditions.
More information about the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project can be found online.
Five-star CB Joshua Dobson, June 12
247Sports “only” has Dobson ranked 43rd nationally. Meanwhile, their composite says he is the 11th-best player in the entire class. Regardless of what the analysts think of the versatile Dobson, he would be a fantastic get for the Wolverines.
Four-stars Tavares Harrington and Darius Johnson, along with three-star Charles Woodson Jr. and three-star Maxwell Miles form an excellent foundation for the class’s secondary. Dobson would not only be the cherry on top, but the hot fudge, sprinkles and peanuts, too.
Here is what he said about Michigan, according to Rivals’ Keegan Pope ($):
“Man, they’re definitely up there. Not a lot of people talk about them in my recruitment, which I don’t know why, but Michigan is strong.”
Four-star WR Dakota Guerrant, June 19
We all know about Guerrant and the Wolverines’ interest in the Harper Woods, Michigan, product. Landing four-star Quentin Burrell does ease some of the pressure of adding a potentially elite playmaker on the perimeter, especially with Oregon playing a significant role in Guerrant’s recruitment, too.
Those Ducks appear to be a serious obstacle. Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong recently talked about Guerrant’s potential pairing with Oregon on “The Wiltfong Whiparound” and how he loves their offense.
Perhaps that marriage is set in stone and Michigan is simply entertaining him on the visit. Perhaps Whittingham and Ron Bellamy can sway the in-stater to stay home.
Three-star edge rusher Ifeanyi Emedobi, June 19
The Wolverines are trending up for the Fort Wayne, Indiana edge rusher. Emedobi may seem a bit redundant with Recarder Kitchen and Jayce Brewer already preparing to don the maize and blue. However, perhaps there are plans for either of the 6-foot-6 Kitchen or 6-foot-5 Brewer to play a more complete defensive lineman role, rather than pure edge work, which feels more likely for someone of Emedobi’s stature (6-foot-1.5, 215 pounds).
Emedobi also only recently started playing football, so who knows where he ends up at the collegiate level. Considering his final four includes Penn State, Indiana and Minnesota, let’s hope Michigan — not the conference foes — gets to solve that question.
Three-star WR Charles Britton III, June 19
Another in-state wide receiver, Britton III, aka “Tre,” hails from Belleville but is drawing heavy interest from Missouri, according to Rivals.
Here is what he had to say about Michigan, via Rivals’ Allen Trieu ($):
“Really, just like being so close to home,” Britton said. “I get to visit them whenever I want really, so I can just get to see how things are going with them. They could take up with me whenever they want too. They’re in my face more, I’d say, because they’re right down the street, so I get to go to them, they get to go to me as many times as possible. So I’m just putting in new relationships and building them fast. It really is — they’re Michigan.”
The official visit should help determine if this is simply love for the hometown school or a legitimate interest in being a Wolverine.
Four-star IOL Lincoln Mageo, June 5
Mageo, from Oceanside, California, may not be regarded as a blue chip prospect, but this is a program that does not necessarily need the most highly touted trenchmen to develop stars. Mageo recently talked to Maize n Brew and praised offensive line coach Jim Harding.
“I loved watching coach Harding break down technique during indy period so that everyone could understand,” Mageo said. “That is the type of coaching that I’m looking for. A coach who takes time to break down technique and focuses on development.
Four-star Jakari Lipsey, and three-stars Sidney Rouleau and Louis Esposito make up the offensive line group in this cycle so far.
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