It's no surprise that the primary focus of every college football pre-game show this morning has been on the ongoing situation in Ann Arbor. The Michigan football team will be without their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, for their final three games of the regular season, including today when the Wolverines face the 10th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, Michigan's first ranked opponent of the season. Harbaugh's suspension was handed down by the Big Ten, not for his role in the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, but as punishment for the University for violating the conference's sportsmanship policy. It should be noted that this decision by the Big Ten comes independent of the NCAA's ongoing investigation into the scandal.
The University of Michigan has filed a temporary restraining order against the Big Ten in hopes of allowing Harbaugh to avoid suspension, and there will be a hearing on Friday which could potentially change Harbaugh's status moving forward, but no change in Harbaugh's status will come today. He will not be on the Michigan sideline for the Wolverines game versus Penn State. Instead it will be offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore who steps in as acting head coach, as he did during Harbaugh's three-game suspension earlier in the season. How the Michigan football team will respond to these developments remains to be seen, but one former National Championship winning coach believes that Harbaugh's suspension could actually be a “huge advantage” for the Wolverines.
"Huge advantage Wolverines. Everybody wants to coach an angry team."@CoachUrbanMeyer and @CharlesWoodson weigh in on the Jim Harbaugh suspension ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1qBlnjXnDB
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) November 11, 2023
On Fox's Big Noon Kickoff, Urban Meyer claimed that it is a “huge advantage” for the Wolverines that Harbaugh is suspended, because “everybody wants to coach an angry team.” This is an interesting statement given the fact that nearly every player on the Jacksonville Jaguars was angry with Urban Meyer during his tenure, and that didn't work out too well for Urb. Different situations, I suppose?
Urban Meyer is right about one thing: the Michigan football team seems to be embracing their newfound villain status, and fully leaning into the Michigan vs. Everybody mindset that has naturally materialized in the fallout of the situation. And from the sounds of it, there is no quick and easy resolution in sight. This is a situation that could drag on for quite some time, and we haven't even arrived at the NCAA's decision on what they'll do with Harbaugh and the Michigan football program yet.
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