College Football Live - Harbaugh's Judgment Day

Episode Date: November 10, 2023

Host Jen Lada is joined by Stanford Steve, Pete Thamel, and Desmond Howards live from the University of Georgia as they get ready for their matchup against Ole Miss. But before the weekend matchups can be discussed, it's judgement day for Michigan as the NCAA has announced their punishment in regards to the sign-stealing investigations that has been headlining the NCAAF for the past few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're flying Emirates business class, enjoying a good night's rest in your lie flat seat, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Welcome to College Football Live, presented by Nationwide. Welcome into College Football Live. We have a big slate of games to get to here in Athens, Georgia. We will, of course, be talking about Georgia versus Old Miss, but we begin today with breaking news that you have seen been talked about for the last few hours. We start with Pete

family. You can give us the latest on Coach Harbaugh and Michigan and the suspension that just came down. Well, the news that came down about an hour ago, Jen, is that the Big Ten is going to punish Michigan for a violation of its sportsmanship policy. And with that punishment of Michigan will come a suspension of coach Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season games. Michigan obviously has three games remaining at Penn State this weekend, Maryland, and then they host Ohio State to conclude. year. So the story here is that in very detailed form, the Big Ten came out and said that Michigan's alleged sign stealing ring was not alleged. It calls it proven, and it says that the NCAA

shared with the conference a master spreadsheet detailing the extensive in-person scouting activities. So basically what the Big Ten said is we are not acting on allegations. We are acting on facts that we have, and we have enough facts in order to go ahead and come to the conclusion. that Michigan violated fairness. The words integrity and fairness are littered throughout the Big Ten statements, and they feel like Michigan violated the policy this season, and therefore, Michigan should be punished this season, and the conclusion of that punishment is this upcoming suspension of Jim Harbaugh. Key to note, only a game day suspension. So he is allowed to coach the team the other six days a week, which is a big line of delineation moving forward.

And Michigan has responded. Here is what Michigan said, in part. It is a lengthy statement, and so stay with me. Today's action by Commissioner Tony Petiti disregards the conference's own handbook, violates basic tenets of due process, and sets an untenable precedent of assessing penalties before an investigation has been completed. Commissioner Petiti's hasty action today suggests this is more about reacting to pressure from other conference members

than a desire to apply the rules fairly and impartially. By taking this action at this hour, the commissioner is personally inserting himself onto the sidelines and altering the level playing field that he is claiming to preserve. And doing so on Veterans Day, a court holiday, to try to thwart the university from seeking immediate judicial relief is hardly a profile in impartiality. To ensure fairness in the process, we intend to seek a court order together with Coach Harbaugh,

preventing that disciplinary action from taking effect. Pete, what more can you tell us about what they are asserting there? Well, Jen, whether or not Jim Harbaugh coaches on the sideline at Penn State this weekend is ultimately going to come down to the decision of a judge likely in the next few hours. Now, the Michigan statement does say that it is Veterans Day. It is a court holiday, so courts are not in session in the state of Michigan. But there are judges on standby, and I've been told by sources that Michigan has spent days preparing for this, and they do have a way to get the temporary restraining order hearing heard today. So again, a judge is likely on standby, just in general, not just for this case, and the judge will hear the TRO case by Michigan.

And if you read the Big Ten statement, it almost sounds like they're making their case in front of the judge what they won't be able to do in this immediate thing. Now, the next step going forward is within the next 14 days, depending on what the judge decides on the immediate TRO, there would be an injunction hearing, which one source said to me today would be the full Perry Mason. There would be witnesses and everything like that. It would not be jury. it would again be up to a judge, but you'd have both sides coming into the courtroom to give their side to ultimately determine whether or not Jim Harbaugh can remain on the sideline for the remainder of the season. So quickly, Jen, we go from the sideline to the courts as the fate of Michigan in its national championship caliber season is in flux. And as we know, Michigan already in Happy Valley for that game against Penn State, I guess we'll find out if, in fact, he will be on the sidelines or if he will be watching from afar. He is Pete Thammel.

I'm also joined here on college football live by Desmond Howard and Stanford. Steve, Des, let's go to your first. Your reaction to the punishment that has been handed down to Michigan and falls on the shoulder, it seems, of Carboh. Well, guys, it's kind of anti-clamactic, you know what I mean? It's like we kind of knew it was coming. It was just a matter of when, not if, and everyone's been preparing for us. There's no big surprise. I think that you look at the commissioner and his statement and what he's put out there.

It's kind of, the hypocrisy is what. grabs me, Steve. You know, it's like if it's Michigan, it's signed stealing, if it's someone else is signed decoding, if it's Michigan, it's in-person scouting, if it's someone else is coaches sharing information from the goodness of their hearts. So the whole thing, man, in reality, it's a distinction without difference to me. I look at the timing. The timing of when this happened. As a player, you know when you get our itinerary for the week, you know exactly when that plane is to leave to go play that game, right? Yeah. So, Somebody had to know when that plane was leaving.

And then, Pete, correct me if I'm wrong, they got the news when they were on the plane headed to Penn State. Seemingly, I'm not sure how long the flight is. I was told they were wheels up around three, and I think we brought the story around 340. And that's what I look at is you knew what the possibilities were and you waited until that time. And then as far as the suspension, yeah, I think it is too harsh. I do. And when you look at it and what's at stake, and like you said, everybody knew something was coming, but the timing of it all. is what really, really bothers me.

Is there any distinction, however, as Pete mentioned, Des, you have played this game, obviously, with a coach being on the sideline, not being on the sideline, rather, but being able to coach his team throughout the week. So when J.J. McCarthy threw three interceptions against Bowling Green State, I told my son, you got to understand,

head coaches make their money on Saturday. That's when they add the most value to a team. So to answer your question, to pull him off the sidelines for the Penn State game, for the Maryland game, and for the Ohio State game, it's a shot at the players. It really is. So, Mike, I'm just so disappointed. I feel for the players, like, these kids work, they work their butt off. You're a former player. You understand exactly what it is.

They don't deserve this. I did get up earlier this morning with Greg McElroy, and he came up with a, a, uh, a, uh, a, uh, a, uh, a, a punishment that would not punish the players in the process, but you still can punish Jim Harbaugh in the program. So my heart just goes out to the players. They've been dealing with so much from the beginning of the season when the NCAA came out to him. But we are,

that was a level two violation, which is a slap on the wrist. They didn't like the way Harbaugh dealt with them. So they said, damn it, because we got the authority, we're going to bump it up to level one. And we want you to get four games. So then they had to lose him for three games for that.

And now at the end of the season, they have to lose him for another three games. How can you not feel for those student athletes, those players who put everything into this season? They're one of the best teams in the country right now. And they have to deal with this type of mess. So a couple points of clarification for Steve on the timing. Michigan was initially given until Tuesday to respond. They asked for an extra day until Wednesday. They gave long, lengthy legal responses, and the Big Ten, if you read the 13-page document, had to take their time.

You just can't take a 10-page response and then Harbaugh's response and do it right away. So that's a little bit of an explanation of the timing. And then Desmond mentioned the other Big Ten schools that were in some sort of sign, as you said, decoding scheme. And the Big Ten addressed that very specifically, Desmond. They said, the university also argues that because Michigan believes that others are engaged in decoding signs, There must be nothing wrong with the university's activities. In addition to impermissible activities of others being currently unsupported by facts, the university's culpability is not dependent on the actions of other institutions.

They said it wasn't supported by facts? Correct. I thought Michigan had receipts. They are saying, we can't go back and forth because I got my laptop. Well, they have the receipts. But I got the gun, I got the knife. The language here, and this is like vetted legal language. Yeah, exactly.

They say the scheme occurred, and just because Michigan, offered procedural and technical arguments designed to delay accountability doesn't mean they should. So essentially, they are saying this isn't an alleged scheme. This happened. And they have NCAA documents to prove it. And they think Michigan got a schematic advantage. The players, as you said, got a schematic advantage early this year. So the Big Ten's rationale is that Michigan should be punished in some way and they feel like

the fair way, I was told throughout this process, the players would not be harmed. Players would be suspended. They wouldn't pull games. They just gave a schematic advantage to. Well, I mean, that's good. That's exactly the point, Desmond. Exactly what they did. Michigan had one from Connor Stallions,

and now Penn State has one without Jim Harbaugh. Unless, yeah, I mean, it's a punishment for the crime. Yeah. Is it a punishment where we're going to do to you what you did to somebody else or you're supposed to be punished? Because you should never give anybody a schematic advantage. Because you said in your own letter that it can cause harm to players. So you shouldn't do that.

Yeah, that's what the Big Ten wrote. Well, there's a lot of legalese there, and sometimes it can sound like, the Charlie Brown teacher a little bit, wot, wot, want, but bottom line, over the next 24 hours, what do you expect to come out? I would expect a judge in Ann Arbor. Generally, I'm not a legal expert.

I want to be clear about that, but I would expect a judge in Ann Arbor to grant the TRO, especially with the timing here. A reparable harm is the key phrase there that has to be proven. Michigan is going to argue that there's a reparable harm without their head coach there. And the counter argument from the Big Ten is going to be, well, they weren't a reparably harm the first three games

when they blew out the first three teams they played without their head coach. I can't predict what a local court is going to do, a circuit court in Ann Arbor. That's beyond my very limited legal purview. But I would just think generally, a judge in Ann Arbor, Michigan would probably go in favor Michigan. That's just a general hunch. But I don't, they're going to dive into the legalese. I had a judge from the courthouse where it's expected to go. Tell me that the most difficult thing, the hardest part of Michigan's threshold here to prove, will be that irreparable harm. So that's what this all is going to come down to whether or not Jim Harbaugh coaches on Saturday.

And I guess that information that you just presented would keep anyone from being surprised if Jim Harbaugh is in fact on the sideline with Michigan tomorrow versus Penn State. Great work by you, Pete. We appreciate all the insight. There are other stories, as you can imagine, going on this week in the college football space.

I know. And we're going to talk about those right now. Pete, what else should we be paying attention to this weekend in college football? Well, right here in Athens, Georgia. Kirby Smart came on Pat McAvey set today and hinted that Brock Bowers is going to return about four weeks ago, he got that tightrope surgery that's become the rage now with high ankle sprains. He's been out.

He'll be a game time decision against Ole Miss on Saturday, and boy, it'll be electric in Athens if old number 19 rolls out for that first possession. Coming up next, we have the return of Quinn Ewers. He had the grade two shoulder sprain that he'd been dealing with in his throwing arm. He's obviously missed two games since suffering that injury. He will be back against TCU. He began practicing on Tuesday this week. He had taken a sack in that Houston game, and he'd been sitting out since then.

Look for Ewers to come back after two starts from Malik Murphy, who filled in well, but he's not Quinn Ewers. So at TCU Saturday, we will see him back. And then obviously, moving forward, we have Jaden Daniels, the LSU quarterback, had a concussion suffered in that Alabama game. He had been in protocol. Brian Kelly has said this week that Jaden Daniels has left protocol, and he's called probable for the game against.

Florida on Saturday. Daniels has had one of the most dynamic seasons of any quarterback in the country. He's in the thicket of the Heisman race. Garrett Nussmeyer is his backup, one of the better backups in the SEC. But for now, we'll have Jaden Daniels back. All right, let's talk a little about college football rather. When we come back, I know I'm getting all tongue tied here as we continue talking about Michigan and the breaking news that the program is facing and that Jim Harbaugh is facing. Coming up, guys, should Georgia be on upset alert as they face one long? Ole Miss. Steve is breaking down why Georgia's defense might be the key to this game. College Football Live is presented by Nationwide. Nationwide is on your side.

This Giving Tuesday, Cam H is counting on your support. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health by creating a future where Canadians can get the help they need, when they need it, no matter who or where they are. From November 25th to December 2nd, your donation will be doubled. That means every dollar goes twice as far to help build a future where no one's seeking help is left behind. Donate today at camph.ca slash giving Tuesday. At Desjardin Insurance, we put the care in taking care of business. Your business, to be exact. Our agents take the time to understand your company so you get the right coverage at the right price.

Whether you rent out your building, represent a condo corporation, or our business. own a cleaning company. We make insurance easy to understand, so you can focus on the big stuff, like your small business. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. You're watching college football live, presented by nationwide. Be a tremendous day of college football. We hope to see y'all tomorrow morning here in Athens as we set the day with College Game Day. Kirby Smart, is going to join the show. Make sure you check us out at 9 a.m. Eastern.

Breaking news this afternoon in the college football landscape. The Big Ten will prohibit Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh from being on the sideline until the conclusion of the regular season. Sources told our Pete Thammel, who has been on top of this story from the very beginning. Harbaugh will be allowed to coach during the week. The discipline is tied to the in-person scouting and ongoing sign-stealing investigation.

And just to be clear, this is not a sanction. on Harbaugh specifically. It is a sanction against the University of Michigan. Michigan released a statement in response confirming that a temporary restraining order, or TRO, will be sought to allow Jim Harbaugh to coach against Penn State tomorrow. You are looking here at Harbaugh on the tarmac in state college, I'm sure, as they were discussing, the plan of attack. Let's take a look at how Michigan got to this point. Nearly a month ago, an external investigation firm provided the NCAA with evidence of Michigan sign stealing. Staffer Connor Stallions was suspended with pay on October 17th. ESPN later

reported that Stallions bought tickets for 12 of the 13 Big 10 schools and four more out of conference schools. And a former D3 player and coach told ESPN he was compensated for recording future Michigan opponents. We will continue talking about Michigan as the afternoon goes on. And as Pete told us, there may be some more news to come out of this situation as the evening goes on. But let's get to some of these games.

Des, let's start with you. Big games that we will be watching this weekend as all of this other stuff swirls around us. Yeah, the reason why we're here, you got Ole Miss and Georgia. I'm looking forward to this game. The last time I saw Ole Miss in the big game, they were my Super Dog.

I picked him down Tuscaloosa. They went there averaging 40-some points a game. Only eighted out 10 against Alabama. You know, you got this Georgia team with Brock Bowers. Maybe he'll return from that high ankle sprains. and Quinn Sean Junkins for Ole Miss is a heck of a running back. They're going to try to run the ball at this Georgia defense,

but I don't need them to put up more than 10 points because that was so disappointing in Tuscaloosa. Well, that was the only one. They're averaging 39. Yeah, but not against a good number. The number that's going to be on everyone's mind in Columbia when Tennessee comes to town is 128. That's how many points that Tennessee has scored in the last two years against Missouri. Tennessee brings in the number three rushing offense in the country. Missouri, to their credit,

has a top 25 run defense. The big question pregame will be, will we see Luther Bird in the star wide receiver who's second in the SEC in receiving yards? He's been questionable this week. He was going to try to give it to go in practice today. He could obviously make a giant difference for the Tigers. I'm going to go to the PAC 12 and look at Utah traveling to Seattle to take on UW.

It feels like UW, at least in my opinion, they're the most forgotten undefeated team out there. And when you look at their road, they overcome a game at USC last week. And now you face a, totally different matchup. You did whatever you wanted on offense last week. Utah will make things tougher.

The question is, how much will Michael Pennix, Jr.? in that offense, have the ball in their hand when Utah is trying to keep it away from him with that run game? Well, speaking of Michael Pennix Jr., let's take a look at the Heisman update brought to you by Nissan. According to ESPN bet, Washington's quarterback is currently with the shortest odds to win the Heisman. Pennix Jr. finished, excuse me, leads the FBS with 3,200

and one passing yards and also ranks fourth in total QBR. Another big performance from him could certainly continue to push that conversation and that narrative as we get closer to the Heisman Award at the beginning of December. The big news today, of course, is Jim Harbaugh and the Big Ten prohibiting him from being on the sideline coaching his team on Saturdays until the season wraps up more on that. And we spit around college football right after this. This Heisman Update is brought to you by Nissan, premier partner of the Heisman trophy. At Desjardin, we speak business.

We speak startup funding and comprehensive game plans. We've mastered made-to-measure growth and expansion advice, and we can talk your ear-off about transferring your business when the time comes. Because at Desjardin business, we speak the same language you do, business. So join the more than four. 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us and contact Desjardin today. We'd love to talk. Business. College Football Live is presented by Nationwide.

Nationwide is on your side. I'd like to give a special thanks to all the men and women out there who have dedicated their time and energy to, you know, our safety as a country and the quality of life that we have. What you do is certainly appreciated more than you know. And we wish you the very best on veterans today. Let's take a look at today's road test presented by Goodyear. Michigan has scored 30 plus points in 12 straight games. That's the longest streak in program history and tied for fourth longest streak in Big Ten history. The Wolverines will put that streak on the line when they hit the road to take on number 10 Penn State tomorrow in state college.

Of course, the question is, will Jim Harbaugh be on the sidelines? Samo continues to follow this story. What is the latest? Well, Jen, we're going to look to the Wachina County Circuit Court, likely for our answer. There are Steve's laughing. There are two potential legal options for Michigan here to get a temporary restraining order. One is federal court. The other is that local court in Ann Arbor. Legal experts told me all week that Michigan would likely go with the home game in this. And a judge right now, because it's a federal holiday, is likely getting some of the details of this and will likely hear, not in an actual court hearing like we'd see in Judge Judy, Jim's

favorite show, but it would actually be in a Zoom session or something of that like, and a decision could be made any time in the upcoming hours, and that temporary restraining order, if it is granted, would allow Jim Harbaugh to coach on Saturday. And then moving forward, that temporary restraining

order, there would need to be another hearing to uphold it within the next 14 days. So we could have double legal drama before the Wolverines play the Buckeyes. This video, Michigan, heading to its hotel in Happy Valley Des in this game. What are you watching in the matchup?

Wow. Well, you look at Michigan's defense number one in the country, a total defense, scoring defense, and past defense going up against Drew Aller and this Nittany Lion offense. Last time we saw him in a big game, they didn't fare well against Ohio State. I'd like to take this moment to say, happy Veterans Day to my brother, Jonathan,

and all the veterans out there. Thank you for your service. We're talking about the game. And his brother. Whatever you want to talk about. Yeah, I think it's veterans, though. You got absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you to Desmond's brother for his service.

Come on, they're going to play it before you. Absolutely. Exactly. Take all their hands. Show some love to the vets. No doubt. When I look at the game here, I just, with everything around it, this is what we all wanted to see Michigan in this situation on the field.

And when you think about it, the strength of schedule, 11th. Ruckers is the, according to FBI, the highest ranked team they played 44th. And now they go on the road. We get to see J.J. McCarthy against that. adversity. That's what I'm looking forward to. I want to see those guys how they handle adversity in this environment. Jay-Z had to be waiting for this moment all season long, and now we finally get to see how they do. Does this moment galvanize Michigan? It's very possible they could rally around the adversity, or does it fracture Michigan? I think that's

very valid. This is the first difficult game Michigan has played all season, simply put. I think we've all been waiting to see this Wolverine team on the field against the top 25 team. now we have our chance, and it is under the most unprecedented of circumstances that the game will play out. Now, I did see a column yesterday. It was from a writer who said that he will not be giving J.G. McCarthy a Heisman vote because of all of this stuff that has been swirling around. He's a complete clown. Having a reaction to that. I expect, though, a guy like J.J. McCarthy, to go out there and prove that he deserves to be in that conversation with a few more weeks.

You know what I mean? He should take his vote should be taken away from him. Absolutely. Yeah. Appreciate the insight there. Listen, tomorrow morning at college game day, we will have a full slate of games that are going on, in addition to the big one happening here, obviously, between Georgia and Ole Miss. Stay tuned to ESPN.com and Pete Thammel's reporting to see what the latest is for Harbaugh and Michigan as we wait to see if he'll be on the sideline tomorrow. Charge your phone.