Gutsy Win vs. Minnesota Is Exactly Why Michigan Hired Jim Harbaugh

The win was far from pretty and even a little bit lucky—but none of that mattered in the end for Michigan.

What's important is the Wolverines are 6-2, and the Little Brown Jug is coming back home with them after a Halloween classic Saturday in Minnesota.

The Wolverines pulled out a 29-26 victory over the rival Golden Gophers away from home, snatching victory on backup quarterback Wilton Speight's touchdown pass and an incredible goal-line stand as time expired. ESPN provided the highlight:

It was a type of win previous Michigan teams might not have been able to pull off, especially against a Minnesota squad that was playing with incredible energy after former head coach Jerry Kill's health-caused retirement earlier in the week.

But the confidence head coach Jim Harbaugh has the Wolverines playing with in his first season, as noted in his postgame comments, per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press, lifted them to this huge win.

Michigan's offense, which was already struggling to generate sustained offense in the second half, suffered a huge blow in the third quarter when starting quarterback Jake Rudock left the game following a nasty hit.

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Speight didn't instill much faith in the Wolverines faithful early on, throwing three straight incompletions right out of the gate—including two on third downs.

However, Harbaugh stuck with Speight on what would be Michigan's final drive, shuffling him out on a few snaps for do-it-all redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers.

Speight delivered a pair of strikes to help get Michigan in the red zone. Later, after Peppers was sacked on second down, Speight delivered a 12-yard touchdown dime to Jehu Chesson.

Maize and Brew's Alejandro Zuniga jokingly added Speight to the Heisman discussion:

A Michigan offense that punted on its four previous drives went 40 yards for a clutch go-ahead score with a quarterback who hadn't completed a collegiate pass attempt before Saturday. Per Snyder, Harbaugh expressed confidence in Speight playing well Saturday:

After the incredible touchdown drive, the spotlight then turned to a Michigan defense that had its confidence shaken all night long.

Entering Saturday night's game, Michigan had held each of its opponents to fewer than 400 yards. 

But Minnesota, led by confident veteran Mitch Leidner, recorded 461 yards against the Wolverines. Leidner had 354 of those yards and both of the Golden Gophers' touchdowns.

The Michigan secondary, which allowed 328 yards in the heartbreaking loss to Connor Cook and Michigan State two weeks ago, looked finished when Leidner hit Drew Wolitarsky on a 22-yard pass that was initially ruled a touchdown.

But a review showed Wolitarsky was down at the 1-yard line, and the Michigan defense had another chance to stand tall.

Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin told his unit to stay strong despite all of its previous mistakes in the game, according to Michigan linebacker Desmond Morgan, per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press: 

The defense did just that, forcing an incompletion after Minnesota's strange decision to shift out of a power set and wind the clock down to just a few seconds, which SB Nation CFB noted: 

Michigan took advantage of that break on the next play. Harbaugh admitted to reporters afterward that Durkin told the defense to sell out on the quarterback sneak, and that's what it did as it stonewalled Leidner just outside the goal line.

Having the confidence to get that final stop comes from Harbaugh, the alumnus who has brought so much energy to the program and its fanbase this season. This same team, which missed a bowl game last season under Brady Hoke, is assured a postseason spot at the very least.

Its close losses to highly ranked Utah and Michigan State should keep Michigan from playing for a surprise national championship this season, but the Wolverines can still cause havoc for rival Ohio State and play for the Big Ten title.

The team's self-belief wasn't shaken after the mind-numbing loss to Michigan State and the subsequent week without a game. The team also did not take a hit after falling behind several times at an electric TCF Bank Stadium, where the Golden Gophers were determined to pull off an upset and win one for Kill.

You could see the confidence exuded from the Wolverines after claiming the Jug, especially in this tweet from defensive lineman Taco Charlton:

"

ME and MINE vs. Yours! I'm taking MY SQUAD EVERY SINGLE TIME!! pic.twitter.com/EWqbg4mTtx

— Taco Charlton (@TheSupremeTaco) November 1, 2015"

Saturday night's game was arguably one of the Wolverines' worst performances of the season, but they still got the job done on the road against an amped-up rival.

Call that the "Harbaugh Effect." It's evident on the field—and in the win column—for Michigan.

Game statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast. Unless otherwise noted, other statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.