Overtime

From “the poet laureate of Michigan football” and three-time New York Times bestselling chronicler of the Wolverines, a riveting and revealing insider’s account of the Jim Harbaugh era and a deeply reported human portrait of life within a big-time college football program.

In December 2014, the University of Michigan’s storied football program was in shambles. Over the previous eight years, the perennial Big Ten powerhouse had barely risen above the .500 mark. But on December 30, a savior was proclaimed in new head coach Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL Coach of the Year, larger-than-life personality, and a legendary former All-American Michigan quarterback.

Harbaugh quickly righted the ship, leading the Wolverines to back-to-back 10-win seasons. After a disappointing 8-5 season in 2017, Michigan returned to glory in 2018 with a 10-game winning streak that elevated U of M to #4 in the polls, but the optimism was short-lived, as they suffered two crushing defeats to end the season, including a crushing loss to arch rival Ohio State. Now, with a top-five recruiting class coming in, star quarterback Shea Patterson returning, and rumors swirling that Harbaugh could be lured back to the NFL at the right price, 2019 feels very much like a make-or-break season for Michigan and its enormous, rabid fanbase.

John U. Bacon, New York Times bestselling author and “poet laureate of Michigan football” (Joe Drape) offers a thrilling insider’s account of the Harbaugh era, based on unparalleled access, hours of exclusive one-on-one interviews, and his years of deep contacts in the Michigan community. Overtime takes readers inside one of college football’s most revered programs and its quest to return to the promised land, and into the lives of the players, families, and coaches, including Harbaugh; star quarterback Shea Patterson, who had to fight the NCAA to be allowed to play; rival Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, a lightning rod for controversy; and others. In the vein of the million-copy-bestseller A Season on the Brink (which followed Indiana basketball and its notorious overlord Bob Knight), Overtime is a window into big-time college sports, and a legendary coach, that only John U. Bacon could write.

Overtime includes approximately 25 color photos.