"An insider's look at Michigan's closely guarded football secrets but does so from the lens of the behind-the-scenes personalities." - Forbes
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 thirty, 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 ten-win seasons. After a disappointing eight-five season in 2017, Michigan returned to glory in 2018 with a ten-game winning streak that elevated U of M to #4 in the polls.
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 into the lives of the players, families, and coaches, including Harbaugh; star quarterback Shea Patterson, rival Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, a lightning rod for controversy; and others.
Overtime is a window into big-time college sports, and a legendary coach, that only John U. Bacon could write.
Includes twenty-five color photos.
"A brilliant look into the wild and wonderful world of U.S. college football." -Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University and author of American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race
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John U. Bacon is the author of the national bestseller The Great Halifax Explosion and five bestselling books about college football, including Three and Out, Fourth and Long, Endzone, and Bo's Lasting Lessons, co-authored with Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. A former feature writer for the Detroit News, his writing has been recognized three times in The Best American Sports Writing series. He appears often on NPR and national television, including ESPN's 2019 documentary series on college football. He has taught at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and the University of Michigan. A popular public speaker, he lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and son.
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"One of the best insider-football books ever written.? ?Douglas Brinkley
A riveting chronicle of Michigan's Jim Harbaugh era, and "an unprecedented look at the inner workings" (Sporting News) of a big-time college football program
For the past year, John U. Bacon has received rare access to Jim Harbaugh's University of Michigan football team: coaches, players, and staffers, in closed-door meetings, locker rooms, meals, and classes. Overtime captures this storied program at the crossroads, as the sport's winningest team battles to reclaim its former glory. But what if the price of success today comes at the cost of your soul? Do you pay it, or compete without compromising?
In the spirit of HBO's Hardknocks, Overtime delivers a deeply reported human portrait that follows the Wolverine coaches, players, and staffers through the 2018 season, including Harbaugh, offensive stars Shea Patterson and Karan Higdon, NFL-ready defensive standouts Rashan Gary, Devin Bush Jr., and Chase Winovich, second-stringers striving to find their place on the team, and their parents' reactions to it all. Bacon met with them every week during a season that saw the Wolverines ride a ten-game winning streak to #4 in the nation, then take a beating at the hands of arch-rival Ohio State, led by controversial coach Urban Meyer, Harbaugh's foil. Overtime also previews the crucial 2019 campaign ahead.
Above all, this is a human story. In Overtime we not only discover what these public figures are like behind the scenes, we learn what the experience means to them as they go through it ? the trials, the triumphs, and the unexpected answers to a central question: Is it worth it?
From the ?poet laureate of Michigan football? (according to New York Times's Joe Drape), and one of the keenest observers of college football, Overtime offers a window into a legendary program and the sport itself that only John U. Bacon could deliver.