Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh could miss his team’s Big Ten opener against Rutgers football as part of the fallout from recruiting violations.
According to multiple reports, Harbaugh could be set to miss Michigan’s first four games of the season as the penalty for recruiting violations. After three non-conference games, Michigan will host Rutgers on September 23 in what will be the Wolverines’ Big Ten opener.
This will mark the second Big Ten game of the season for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers plays their Big Ten opener at SHI Stadium against Northwestern on Labor Day weekend.
Michigan opens with against East Carolina before playing UNLV and Bowling Green. All three games are in Ann Arbor.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Harbaugh faces this punishment for issues stemming from recruiting:
“The looming suspension is tied to an NCAA recruiting investigation into Michigan in which Harbaugh faces a Level I violation, the most serious kind in the NCAA’s purview, for not cooperating with NCAA enforcement.”
Now this is not insignificant news for Rutgers. While Michigan is likely to be heavily favored in their home game against the Scarlet Knights, potentially not having their head coach would seem to hurt the Wolverines to a certain degree.
Enough to offset their home-field advantage and the fact that Michigan is an elite team that made the College Football Playoffs last year? Well…
Michigan beat Rutgers 52-17 last year. Rutgers was up 17-14 at halftime.
In 2022, Rutgers nearly pulled off an upset at Michigan, coming back in the second half in what would be a 20-13 win for the Wolverines.
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