Michigan football program suffered a significant blow when, on the eve of its first game against a ranked opponent this season, head coach Jim Harbaugh received a three-game suspension amid accusations of sign stealing.
But the Wolverines responded on Saturday, defeating State of Pennsylvania 24-15 to improve to 10-0 on the season.
Michigan interim head coach and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore coaches on the sideline during the Michigan Wolverines versus Penn State Nittany Lions game on November 11, 2023 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA. (Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It’s that value, Harbaugh believes, that makes the Wolverines «America’s team.»
MICHIGAN STILL NO. 2 IN AP POLL, LOSES TWO VOTES FROM FIRST PLACE AS TEAM ENCOUNTERS WITH SIGN THEFT SCANDAL
«Looking at it from where I was looking at it, I thought, ‘How can you not see this?'» Harbaugh said during a news conference Monday.
«The excitement of the team, the perseverance and then the toughness of these guys.»
He Big Ten Conference announced Friday that the veteran head coach would be sidelined for the final three games of the season amid investigations into an in-person scouting and sign-stealing operation, the latest of which centers on the former understaffer. Connor Stallions level.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines watches in the first half while playing against the Purdue Boilermakers at Michigan Stadium on November 4, 2023 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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The investigations come as Michigan seeks a third consecutive conference championship and the school’s first national title since 1997.
«It’s got to be America’s team. It’s got to be America’s team,» Harbaugh said Monday. «America loves a team that beats the odds, beats adversity, beats what the naysayers and the critics, the so-called experts, think. That’s my favorite kind of team.»
Harbaugh, who has already missed the first three games of the season due to a school-imposed suspension for an unrelated incident NCAA recruiting violations case, He is looking for the courts to intervene so as not to miss more games.
General view as the Michigan Wolverines take the field before a college football game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on September 23, 2023 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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«I’m just looking for that opportunity, the due process,» he said Monday. «I’m not looking for special treatment. I’m not looking for a popularity contest. I’m just looking for the merit of the case.»
If things don’t go his way on Friday, Harbaugh said offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will once again fill in for him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.