Jim Harbaugh is back and so was Michigan football as we’ve come to know it

Jim Harbaugh was as effervescent as he has ever been in a postgame news conference Saturday.

The Michigan football coach made jokes, delivered memorable one-liners and dished out compliments. He seemed buzzed by the high of competition, intoxicated by the thrill of victory. His team’s 31-7 conquest of Rutgers left Harbaugh in a state of euphoria as he made a triumphant return to the sideline following his three-game suspension.

“I was super happy,” he said. “No doubt about it.”

But only hours before Harbaugh struck a different, more sobering chord in a pregame speech to his players.

“Don’t worry,” he told them, as defensive back Mike Sainristil later recalled.

It was a reassuring message meant to soothe some of the angst that developed during Harbaugh’s intermittent absence, when the Wolverines didn’t dominate in the way so many had anticipated. A rebuilt offensive line, which had been the cornerstone of the program’s resurgence the past two seasons, had yet to jell. The fearsome ground attack that followed its lead looked rather pedestrian.

MICHIGAN GRADES: Another near-perfect day for defense vs. Rutgers

Even star quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had shined in the first two games, was now a target of concern following a poor performance against Bowling Green. Only the defense looked like championship material after stymying three weak non-conference opponents that had limited firepower.

While the Wolverines weren’t exactly vulnerable as they headed into their Big Ten opener, they didn’t leave the impression that they were a team operating at full capacity. As Saturday’s game neared, it seemed increasingly probable that the Scarlet Knights, with their ground-and-pound offense and brawny defense, could pose some problems. This would be a battle of wills, Harbaugh’s players understood. Field position would matter. So too would time of possession.

“You gotta show ‘em who’s boss,” said linebacker Junior Colson. “We’ve been here first. It’s not as if you’re going to try to come in here and take it from us.”

But for the briefest of moments, that’s exactly what Rutgers did. On the third play from scrimmage, Gavin Wimsitt unleashed a pass to Christian Dremel, who was tracing a slant route. Dremel won inside position, then evaded a tackle by safety Rod Moore before zipping all the way to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown.

One minute expired and the Scarlet Knights already held a 7-0 lead. The boisterous crowd had quieted, lumps forming in their throats. Michigan had just been dealt its first real blow of the season. There was now even more reason to feel unsettled.

“That’s one of those plays,” Harbaugh said, “that could make the normal, the ordinary person or team flinch.”

SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan a different team with Jim Harbaugh on the sideline

But the Wolverines kept calm and carried on, showing some mettle. They regained their balance on the second possession, a 94-yard march in the first quarter marked by clever play design and meticulous execution. It was a pivotal sequence when Michigan’s offense reached its full potential by showcasing its new-and-improved multidimensionality. There were both rugged runs and pinpoint passes. There was even some X’s-and-O’s trompe l’oeil materializing in the form of a 35-yard flea-flicker from McCarthy to tight end Colston Loveland that pushed Michigan to the edge of Rutgers’ end zone.

Then, to top it off, there was a familiar and comforting scene: Corum following a row of blockers across the goal line on a 2-yard dive.

“We knew we needed to score just for the energy,” Corum said. “That second drive was a huge part of the game.”

All the doubts seemed to evaporate at the end of it, after all. From that point forward, the Wolverines looked like the No. 2 team in the land as they beat Rutgers at its own game.

They bullied the Scarlet Knights at the line of scrimmage, outgaining them by 196 yards over the final three quarters. During that span, Rutgers lost the time of possession battle by 17 minutes as Michigan imposed its will.

Harbaugh relished the display of Michigan’s might. Channeling the words of his mentor, Bo Schembechler, he said the Wolverines were “grinding meat” as they pulverized the Scarlet Knights on both sides of the ball.

“That warms the cockles of the heart,” he remarked.

“That is what we pride ourselves on: Playing smash-mouth football,” added Sainristil, who sealed the win in the third quarter with a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown. “That’s what we like doing.”

RAINER SABIN: Michigan got punched in the mouth. Its response bodes well for future games.

Before Saturday, no one could say definitively if these Wolverines were equipped to play that crude, ruthless style. The team entered this preseason determined to expand the dimensions of its passing game. In August, McCarthy said he had been throwing like crazy in the team’s first few practices. Then, in the first two games, he was offensive catalyst as he wowed the masses with his near-perfect completion rate.

But on Saturday McCarthy was simply the conductor of a balanced attack, the instrument that put it in motion. He only passed when necessary, recording 15 completions on 21 attempts. He also gained 51 yards on a series of outside runs that opened holes in the middle of Rutgers’ defense. That afforded Corum more room to maneuver and Michigan the opportunity to wrest control of the game.

“It was really good,” Harbaugh said. “Fun.”

Perhaps more importantly, it was reassuring. The Wolverines, on this day, again looked like a vintage Jim Harbaugh squad: Powerful, unrelenting, and victorious.

From his vantage point on the sideline, it was a sight to behold.

“Coach was happy,” he said.

That much was obvious.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football appears restored with Jim Harbaugh back on sideline