Michigan beats Penn State without Jim Harbaugh after no court ruling to lift ban

Following the denial of a judge’s decision regarding the university’s attempt to at least temporarily lift the Big Ten Conference’s sanction against the Wolverines for a sign-stealing scheme, No. 2 Michigan defeated No. 9 Penn State on Saturday while playing without coach Jim Harbaugh.

Ninety minutes prior to kickoff, Michigan announced that Harbaugh would not be present at Beaver Stadium with the team and that the 17th of November would be the hearing date for the school’s lawsuit contesting the Big Ten’s punishment.

Michigan released a statement saying, “We look forward to presenting our case next week where we intend to demonstrate that the Big Ten has not acted legally or fairly.”

Sherrone Moore, the offensive coordinator, took over as interim head coach and guided the Wolverines to a 24–15 triumph.

He claimed that until they got to Beaver Stadium, the coaches and players were in the dark about Harbaugh’s probable absence from the game. Moore, who replaced Harbaugh once already this season, said that they got ready during the week in case he ended up being the team’s captain once more.Moore stated, “The constant message was to play for yourselves, play for the team, and play for Michigan.” “It wasn’t about him,” we said.

Offensive lineman Trevor Keegan stated, “Obviously, everything that happened yesterday, we just want to use that as fuel and motivation.” Our team is full of leaders and guys who are driven to show the doubters who are wrong. We only want to disprove their accusations because they will be making fun of us. We desired to fulfill this task for Coach Harbaugh.

About fifty minutes before kickoff, Michigan’s athletic director Warde Manuel released a statement in which he claimed Commissioner Tony Petitti and the Big Ten had behaved “unethically” on Friday by barring Harbaugh from the team’s final three regular-season games.”An assault on everyone’s right to be judged by a fair and complete investigation,” as he put it, “especially in the Big Ten.”

“Not liking someone or another university or believing without any evidence that they knew or saying someone should have known without an investigation is not grounds to remove someone from their position before the NCAA process has reached a conclusion through a full NCAA investigative process,” Manuel said.

On Friday, hours after the Big Ten banned Harbaugh from coaching the rest of the Wolverines’ final regular-season games as punishment for an in-person-scouting and sign-stealing operation, the coach and his alma mater filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the Big Ten and Petitti.

Their attorneys asked for a speedy decision from a judge in Washtenaw County, Michigan, that would allow Harbaugh to coach against the Nittany Lions in the top-10 matchup.

“The harm to the university’s student-athletes would be irreversible,” attorneys for Michigan and Harbaugh said in the filing.

However, it was ineffective.

“My Big Ten AD colleagues and all of the Big Ten head coaches (some of whom have been accused of actively trading opponent signals) can celebrate that someone was “held accountable” today, but they should be concerned about the new standard of judgment (without thorough investigation) that has been unleashed in this conference,” Manuel stated.This season, Michigan has already played three games without Harbaugh on the sidelines. He was suspended by the school for the first three games of the season due to a separate NCAA recruiting violations case.

Every week, a different assistant from Michigan took over as head coach; Moore led the team in one game, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter led the team in another, and special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and running backs coach Mike Hart splitting the third.

The Wolverines easily won all three against East Carolina, Bowling Green and UNLV.

Harbaugh returned in time for the conference schedule, but now they are 4-0 without him.

About 2 hours and 45 minutes before kickoff Saturday, four buses carrying Michigan players, coaches, Manuel and other staff were greeted by a few dozen Michigan fans lined up behind steel barriers.

Some cheered and yelled “Go Blue!” as the buses emptied.

One fan yelled out to Manuel: “Let’s join the SEC!”

Manuel raised a hand to acknowledge the fans but otherwise Michigan entered the stadium with little fanfare.

The conference disciplined the school Friday for an elaborate, in-person scouting scheme that is also being investigated by the NCAA. Michigan leadership insists conference bylaws require the NCAA investigation to play out and that Petitti overstepped his power by doling out punishment.

The Big Ten noted that Michigan is only arguing procedure and process and had conceded the impermissible conduct went on. Conference rivals have been angry and frustrated as evidence mounted that a former low-level staffer was buying tickets to the games of Michigan’s opponents and sending people to record video of sideline signals.

The rare punishment of a national championship contender in the final stretch of its season and one of college football’s most successful coaches by its own conference has become one of the biggest stories in sports.

On the field, Michigan has been the most dominant team in the country, beating its opponents by average of 36 points per game.

Penn State provided a tougher challenge, Michigan’s first ranked opponent. The Wolverines grinded down the Nittany Lions to improve to 3-0 since the NCAA investigation was revealed.

Harbaugh’s team is vying for a third straight Big Ten championship and appearance in the College Football Playoff.

After Penn State, the Wolverines play at Maryland before the traditional regular-season finale against heated rival Ohio State. The third-ranked Buckeyes visit Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Nov. 25.

The Big Ten’s penalty would allow Harbaugh to return for the Big Ten championship game and the playoff, if Michigan makes it.

“You may have removed him from our sidelines today, but Jim Harbaugh is our head football coach,” Manuel said. “We look forward to defending Jim’s right to coach our football team at the hearing on Friday. He has instilled his pride, passion and the team’s belief in themselves to achieve greatness. I will continue to support Jim throughout this process, my coaches and staff, and especially our student-athletes as we continue to play this game and fight to win for Michigan and all who love us.