Forget winning the big one, Harbaugh finally got his first one against Ohio State.

2 Ohio State.

Michigan won the Big Ten East outright for the first time and will compete in its first Big Ten Championship Game looking for its first league title since 2004.

He went into Saturday with an 0-5 record coaching against Ohio State and not so much as a division title to his name in 11 years as an FBS coach at Michigan and Stanford.

It was inside the program that Harbaugh hung a sign in the offseason that reminded his team who they had to beat.

It was inside the program that Michigan began working on Ohio State right after New Year's in winter conditioning.

"We've been playing these dudes, really, since January," quarterback Cade McNamara said of the Buckeyes.

It got leaked that we had up on our board, 'What are you doing to beat Ohio State?' That was something we kept in the back of our minds.".

Not when they were defeated by Michigan State last month.

Not when the Buckeyes were scorching the earth and looking very much like the 2020 Alabama team that simply outscored opponents on its way to winning last year's national championship.

Not when Michigan answered seemingly every challenge from The Team Down South.

The team, the team, the team finally beat Ohio State for the first time in 3,654 days.

"It feels like the beginning, everything about the team," Harbaugh said.

"I just really think this team was perfectly built to beat Ohio State," McNamara said.

Michigan came into The Game having lost only two fumbles all year.

Meanwhile, Ohio State's run of four consecutive Big Ten titles died, as did its playoff chances on the raw, windy Big House turf.

"It hurts," said Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who lost for the first time in 26 Big Ten games.

"We knew that we could beat them," said Andrew Stueber, one of four starters to return on the Michigan offensive line.

On Michigan's second possession of the second half, the top came of off Ohio State's defense.

Now, after winning one big one, several more await Harbaugh: the Big Ten Championship Game, potentially two College Football Playoff games

"We did enough," Harbaugh said, "to beat them today."