Harbaugh's injury cripples Michigan's hopes for title By DAVE MATTHEWS Staff Writer ANN ARBOR It is not a question that has often been asked here, even in whispers in the dark comers of noisy rooms. It is not a question that has been asked here in the 15 years since Bo Schembechler assumed the controls of Michigan and proceeded to become one of college football's win-ningest coaches. BUT IT must be asked now. Is Michigan a legitimate Big Ten Conference contender? And the answer is no longer an unqualified yes. For the first time in almost two decades, it may be a qualified no. Saturday's 19-7 defeat by Michigan State Saturday was not, in itself, a killer to the Wolverines' hopes. Schembechler has said he expects no team to go unbeaten in the conference. And now that Purdue has knocked off title-favorite Ohio State, it appears no one will. The defeat is really the least of Michigan's problems. What could be the killer is the possible need to restructure an already suspect offense to compensate for the loss of quarterback Jim Harbaugh. . "We've got to regroup and see where we're going," Schembechler said, after announcing that Har-. baugh was done for the season as the "result of a broken left arm suffered in the third period. "IT'LL BE a challenge. We've never been in. this situation before. We'll have to decide what we want to do with them and go from there," he continued, referring to his only other scholarship quarterbacks, sophomores Russ Rein and Chris Zur-brugg. The problem is not merely that neither of them is Jim Harbaugh, and thus neither is perfectly suited to a Michigan offense designed to emphasize his ' strengths and minimize his weaknesses. Nor is it altogether a matter of the game experience that both Rein and Zurbrugg so badly lack. Not only aren't they like Harbaugh, but they aren't like each other. "Russ is a throwing quarterback, pretty much all the way," Zurbrugg said. "I wouldn't compare myself to some of the great option quarterbacks we've had here, but that's my strength. The option is what I ran in high school all the time." Kein is more like Harbaugh, which is why he got the first call Saturday. BUT THE Harbaugh offense hasn't exactly been devastating at any time this season, which is why some deep thinking is going on right now in the Michigan football office. The option attack, run so long and so well by Michigan quarterbacks like Steve Smith, Rick Leach and Denny Franklin, wasn't viable with Harbaugh. And it probably wouldn't be with Rein. But it might work for Zurbrugg. If Schembechler had an immediate leaning, he kept it to himself. He only insisted bravely that, "we'll be back. We'U play better."