Two things were learned by Michigan football fans Saturday about their legendary program.
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Their team cannot beat ranked opponents. Their head coach is Jim Fraudbaugh and not Harbaugh.
They must admit it. Harbaugh is a fraud.
These signs have been visible for a while. Many ignored them, making excuses for why Michigan could not win big games or worse, how it couldn't compete in the College Football Playoff.
Fraudbaugh was able to return to his alma mater because of this.
He would turn the program around and bring it back to the fame that many believed it deserved.
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Fraudbaugh was paid by Michigan like he were one of the top college coaches in the country. He was one of the four highest-paid coaches in the game at one time.
But there was one problem. All three of them had one thing in common: they had all won a national championship.
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Michigan had to make a decision about Fraudbaugh after last year's disastrous season. It had to give him an extension, or fire him. They offered him a pay cut.
They got what they paid: A cut-rate coach who cannot win a big game to save himself.
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Fraudbaugh only had to beat Michigan State, Michigan's in-state rival. MSU is clearly the little brother, judging by its football achievements.
Fraudbaughs Michigan lost a 16 point lead in East Lansing at the second half. This loss ended most likely the schools' chance of winning the Big Ten East.
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It was also a blow to the Wolverines chance of making the CFP for their first time.
Fraudbaugh cannot hide behind the MSU's 37-33 loss. He cannot beat top-ranked teams. Fraudbaugh's watch has seen him lose 13 of 15 games against top-10 rivals.
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Michigan fans used to call the former coach Brady Hoke, Brady Joke.
Fraudbaugh's tenure at Michigan was a terrible joke.
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Fraudbaugh could have won the game on Saturday, and that would have been a huge change.
This match was historic. This was the first time that Michigan and MSU had met since 1964.
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Fraufbaugh made a few questionable coaching decisions during the loss, including switching quarterbacks at crucial points in the game. Fraudbaugh chose J.J. McCarthy to replace Cade McNamara as the starter in the fourth quarter. McCarthy lost the ball and gave it to MSU in Wolverine territory. Ballgame
Wolverine fans are not new to heartbreak. Fraudbaugh has not been able beat his rivals, Ohio State, MSU and Penn State. These schools are 6-12 for Michigan
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Fraudbaugh has never beaten Michigan. It is 0-6 and counting.
There are some losses against Michigan State that hurt. Michigan lost a punt in 2015 and the result was a game-winning touchdown.
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Last season, Mel Tucker, MSU's new coach, beat Fraudbaugh in the Big House. Tucker's second major win against Michigan was Saturday. Tucker is in line to receive a lifetime contract with the school.
Fraudbaugh should be fired after each season.
It won't happen. Michigan is too scared to admit that it made a mistake in hiring him.
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They will discuss the seven consecutive wins to start the season against nobodies, and their sixth ranking in the college poll at time of matchup with MSU. The Spartans were eighth.
They will believe that Michigan has made progress and is on the right track.
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It is all false. Some people live in the past. They'll point out what he did at other colleges. They might bring up his experience with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three first seasons, they reached three NFC championship games and made it to the Super Bowl.
Despite this, none of these teams won anything major.
Fraudbaugh was to win the big prize for his school, a championship.
He has repeatedly failed.
If Fraudbaugh's miserable results had been repeated seven more times, any coach would have been fired. Ann Arbor would have been eliminated years ago.
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Fraudbaugh's return sounded perfect Hollywood. The former star quarterback of the team, who was coached by Bo Schembechler, returns home to win it all.
It was, in fact, all fraud.
