The general perception seems to be that Jim Harbaugh was merely slapped on the wrist by Michigan football, which levied a three-game suspension on the longtime Wolverines head coach as a result alleged Level I and II NCAA violations that Harbaugh is said to have committed. To Harbaugh, however, the suspension is agonizing.

Not only did the Michigan football coach admit Monday that he “doesn't know how he'll watch” the three contests, but he also compared the suspension to getting whacked with a baseball bat on the kneecap, per Zach Shaw of 247 Sports.

“Some people call it a slap on the wrist. I’d liken it to a baseball bat to the kneecap.”

Harbaugh, who played quarterback in four seasons with the Wolverines in the 1980s, is a Michigan man through and through. It can't be easy for him to sit on the sidelines and not have his fingerprints all over the team's gameplan.

But it's likely necessary for Harbaugh, who is still facing punishment from the NCAA, to take the proverbial bat right to both kneecaps now, in the hopes that maybe it will smooth things over with the NCAA.

Harbaugh allegedly committed recruiting and coaching infractions, the Level II violations, then made misleading statements to the NCAA about said infractions, the Level I violations.

His case is likely to go through a hearing, which will kick the can down the road for any punishment until 2024.

While it might pain Harbaugh to see Michigan football take the field without him, the program should be just fine.

Ranked number two in the nation behind the two-time defending champion Georgia Bulldogs in the preseason poll, the Wolverines should have no trouble dispatching East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green.