Subscribe
Follow Us
The Michigan football saga featuring Jim Harbaugh's NCAA sanctions has taken center stage in the offseason news cycle throughout the summer, and the head coach has finally commented on the recent updates.
Harbaugh had previously brokered a deal with the NCAA that he would serve a four-game suspension in the first month of the season, missing each of their first four home contests at the Big House in September. He would be allowed to coach during the week, but would be banned from the facility for 24 hours every Saturday.
Harbaugh no longer wants to discuss those off-field issues, and is using all of his focus on his talented squad with just a few weeks left until kickoff.
“I’m trying my best, but it is really locked in on this football team,” Harbaugh said.
On Saturday, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions denied his resolution for failing to cooperate with a previous investigation, which also wiped the planned suspension for the time being.
When asked for his thoughts after previously wanting to “lay it all out there,” Harbaugh gave a serious ‘no-comment' as his response this week, per Austin Meek of The Athletic.
There are a lot of distractions circling the Michigan program, with the Wolverines recently getting ranked at No. 2 overall in the AP preseason poll, their highest ranking to start to the season since 1991. They also edged out their hated rival Ohio State Buckeyes, who were displeased to find themselves just behind at No. 3.
Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are coming to Ann Arbor for revenge at the end of November, after losing back-to-back games to Michigan for the first time since 1999-2000. Harbaugh has the Wolverines playing with serious fire and talent for the first time in over a decade in the last few years, and the lead up to this vaunted rivalry will be the talk of the season on and off the field. It is unknown where the Harbaugh-NCAA saga will lead, but it is now time to focus on football and put the distractions behind them.
