There is a big game going on at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. That might be a minor story in comparison to what has transpired ahead of the game, which kicks off at Noon on Fox.
On Friday as the Michigan Wolverines it was announced that the Big Ten had banned Jim Harbaugh from being on the sidelines for the final three games of the regular season. The conference announced that Michigan was found in violation of the Big Ten’s Sportsmanship Policy for the in-person scouting operation for multiple years stating it gave the Wolverines an “unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.”
While the team must now prepare to take on the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions without their head coach. Meanwhile, the home team is expected to get notable pass rusher Chop Robinson back for this game. Our colleagues Jace Evans and Dan Wolken believe that everything surrounding the program both on and off the field, is the recipe for an upset.
Michigan has a lot going on right now, as you all may have noticed. It seems a poor time, then, for the Wolverines to face by far their hardest challenge of the year to date. No team in college football has looked better this year … and no good team has played so few good opponents. I think the Wolverines stumble in Happy Valley as controversy swirls around them, giving Penn State and coach James Franklin a needed big-game win. — Jace Evans
Even though I’m not completely sure how Penn State plans to score against one of the best defenses in the country, all the tumult going on at Michigan has to catch up with this team sooner or later. So why not on the road against an opponent that has a lot of talent? History suggests this is a bad pick because Penn State under James Franklin does not beat Michigan (or Ohio State) when Michigan is good. We’ve seen it again and again with this team. But Michigan has been allowed to cruise through the first nine games of the year against very bad competition, and though the Wolverines are excellent on both sides of the ball, there is probably some competitive atrophy from never playing a good team. It’s absolutely bizarre that it’s this late in the season and Michigan finally gets a test. Presumably without the benefit of Connor Stalions’ inside information on Penn State’s signs, this is going to be an upset for the Nittany Lions. — Dan Wolken
It remains to be seen how this will all play out. Will Michigan be distracted with Jim Harbaugh once again suspended, this time by the Big Ten? Or will they be even more motivated to send a message to the college football world?
For more on this game check out Wolverines Wire and Nittany Lions Wire.