Michigan Football: New Year's Resolutions for the Wolverines

Champagne, confetti and cheers are staples at midnight, but no new year—not even for the Michigan football team—is complete without making a handful of resolutions.

While the Wolverines are on the rise thanks to head coach Jim Harbaugh's leadership, he's assuredly looking to change some program failures and shortcomings in recent seasons.

Michigan must prepare itself for the Harbaugh ride, however. The road to success can include some unforeseen bumps, and the right administrator better be prepared for the trip.

Note: The list is organized in chronological order as best as possible.

Dominate a Bowl Game

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Michigan's national brand is based on tradition. The program won national championships in the early years of college football and has the most victories in the history of the sport.

But that tradition really doesn't extend to commanding triumphs in bowl games.

The Wolverines have lost seven of their last nine postseason appearances, while their two wins are by a combined nine points. 

Michigan certainly wants to change that trend during the 2016 Citrus Bowl, and a little recruiting boost from a big result wouldn't hurt, either.

Hire an Athletic Director Who Can Deal with Harbaugh

Evan Habeeb/Getty Images

On the imaginary top tier of college coaches, there's Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh. When a program has someone like that, it can't simply fire him.

You'd think that, at least. Bleacher Report's Lars Anderson detailed what led to the rift with San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke and the end of Harbaugh's successful NFL tenure.

"

"I just can't deal with Jim anymore," Baalke told his friend, a veteran front-office employee of an NFL team who relayed the conversation to Bleacher Report. "This guy is a nut. Every day he's [complaining] at me about something new. It's this, it's that. He's wearing all of us out. He's grinding us down."

"But Trent, you guys have won with Jim," the friend told Baalke. "Can't you just focus on the winning?"

"I'm getting stepped on every day by Jim," Baalke replied. "I can't do this much longer."

"

Will Harbaugh's personality change in Ann Arbor? Does it matter? A few years from now, Michigan wouldn't dare consider pushing out Harbaugh instead of a frustrated athletic director, right?

Brendan F. Quinn of MLive notes Jim Hackett is keeping the role until the school hires a successor. His replacement better be ready for the complete Harbaugh experience.

Otherwise, Michigan may be looking for another new AD within a few years.

Beat Michigan State

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

"Little brother had a good run," Wolverines fans say.

"We're just getting started," Spartans supporters retort.

Over a 12-year period, the Maize and Blue earned 10 victories. Since then, Michigan State has taken seven of the last eight meetings.

Michigan outplayed MSU in 2015. Yes, the Spartans had more yards. However, simple division tells a different story; it was an undeniably improbable win, and time of possession is a vastly overrated statistic.

At worst, that's an encouraging sign for the Wolverines' future. They'll work to start a new winning streak against the rivals from East Lansing.

Beat Ohio State

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press perfectly described Michigan's rivalries, calling MSU the worst possible loss and Ohio State the best possible win.

And that victory is a long time coming.

In the last decade-plus, UM vs. OSU has been about as non-rivalry a rivalry as rivalry gets. Just once since 2003 have the Wolverines knocked off the Buckeyes, and that came during Ohio State's post-Jim Tressel disaster of a season in 2011.

Additionally, Michigan is riding a seven-game losing streak in Columbus, the site of 2016's matchup.

Considering the Buckeyes' returning starters and young talent taking over, some things are easier said than done. After all, not every resolution is kept.

Avoid Key Injuries

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

If the Wolverines want a realistic shot at defeating Michigan State and Ohio State, they're going to need a clean bill of health—particularly on the defensive line.

Michigan had no business beating the Buckeyes in 2015. No injured player would've changed that. That can be said while acknowledging the missing impacts of Mario Ojemudia, Ryan Glasgow and Bryan Mone, who likely would've been Glasgow's replacement.

Every team loses a couple of starters during a given season, but long-term injuries can derail chances to compete with rivals, let alone destroy conference championship hopes.

---

All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.