- Jim Harbaugh will not coach his Michigan Wolverines team against Penn State
- The court will not rule today in his attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order
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Jim Harbaugh did not travel to Penn State with his Michigan Wolverines team today, but is ready to attend the game if a judge issues a restraining order against the Big Ten and Commissioner Tony Petitti.
The Big Ten Conference is banned Harbaugh of coaching Michigan’s three remaining regular-season games on Friday as punishment for a sign-stealing scheme.
The school made good on its promise to fight back in court a few hours later, asking a Michigan judge for a temporary restraining order allowing Harbaugh to coach the Wolverines in their biggest game of the season yet.
The coach and his alma mater filed for a temporary restraining order against the Big Ten and Commissioner Petitti.
Their attorneys asked for a quick decision that would allow Harbaugh to coach against the Nittany Lions in the top-10 matchup that will begin just after noon Eastern.
Jim Harbaugh did not travel to Penn State with his Michigan Wolverines today
The Wolverines players and staff arrived at Beaver Stadium on Saturday morning
“The harm to the University’s student-athletes would be irreversible,” attorneys for Michigan and Harbaugh said in the filing.
Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will serve as Michigan’s acting head coach today if Harbaugh’s motion is not granted before kickoff.
The conference punished the school Friday for an extensive, in-person scouting program that is also under investigation by the NCAA.
Conference rivals are angry and frustrated as mounting evidence shows that a former low-level staff member bought tickets to Michigan opponents’ games and sent people to record videos of side signals.
Harbaugh has denied any knowledge of any improper scouting in his program.
The rare punishment of a national championship candidate in the final stretch of his season and one of college football’s most successful coaches by his own conference has become one of the biggest stories in sports.
Harbaugh and his lawyers are trying to get a restraining order against the Big Ten and its commissioner Tony Petitti
“Like all members of the Big Ten Conference, we are entitled to a fair, deliberate and thoughtful process to determine the full set of facts before making a judgment,” Michigan President Santa Ono said in a statement.
“Today’s action by Commissioner Tony Petitti ignores the conference’s own handbook, violates basic principles of due process, and sets an untenable precedent for imposing sanctions before an investigation is completed.”
On the field, Michigan was the most dominant team in the country, outscoring its opponents by an average of 36 points per game and not allowing more than one touchdown in any game.
The Wolverines’ competition has been the only argument against its excellence so far. Penn State will be the first ranked team Michigan has faced.
Harbaugh’s team is vying for its third straight Big Ten championship and entry into the College Football Playoff.
Former Michigan man Tom Brady tweeted on social media on Friday the same phrase as current Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy and many other Michigan players
The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season on Friday due to a personal sign-stealing scandal. The University of Michigan filed a restraining order in local court seeking to reinstate Harbaugh and circumvent the conference’s ruling.
After Penn State, the Wolverines are in Maryland for the traditional regular season finale against heated rival Ohio State. The third-ranked Buckeyes visit Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 25.
The Big Ten’s punishment would allow Harbaugh to return for the Big Ten championship game and the playoff, if Michigan makes it.
Tom Brady waded into the controversy surrounding his former college, as current and former players tweeted one-word responses to Harbaugh’s suspension.
Following the suspension announcement, several Michigan football players tweeted the word “Bet” — defined in the modern slang context by Urban Dictionary as “something (a person) says when someone doubts them.”
Those players included current Michigan starting QB JJ McCarthy, as well as former Michigan QB and future Hall-of-Famer Brady.