they improved and got ranked and became what they became. The PSU team they beat was not close the being the same PSU team that ended the season. Even so, Michigan ended up in 3rd place in their division, and struggled to put away some bad teams like Michigan State — BYU beat them much more convincingly than UM did.
Here is a comparison of Harbaugh and Hoke’s first 3 years at Michigan:
Brady Hoke:
W/L record: 26-13
Bowl record: 1-2
Record vs rivals: 2-4
Wins over teams with winning records: 11
Road wins vs teams with winning records: 1
Division titles: 0
Conference championships: 0
Jim Harbaugh:
W/L record: 28-11
Bowl record: 1-2
Record vs rivals: 1-5
Wins over teams with winning records: 7
Road wins vs teams with winning records: 1
Division titles: 0
Conference championships: 0