The Hodgepodge: A Jim Harbaugh Impostor Appears Outside Ohio Stadium, James Franklin Has Another Big Game Letdown, Two Coaches Get Fired After One Game

By Garrick Hodge on November 13, 2023 at 1:42 pm
James Franklin
Dan Rainville/USA TODAY NETWORK
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Heading into Ohio Stadium a few hours before kickoff against Michigan State, I came across a sight that made me do a double-take.

An elderly gentleman posing as Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was being led away from the stadium in handcuffs by a woman impersonating a police officer, stopping only to take photos with fans and use that opportunity to proclaim his innocence. I’ll admit it, the resemblance is uncanny. 

College football fans are the best, man. Less than two weeks until The Game. 

Harbaugh suspended, Ann Arbor Astros win anyway

The real Harbaugh had his own problems last week after the Big Ten levied a suspension on Friday that will force the Wolverines’ coach to miss the rest of the regular season amid the Ann Arbor Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. 

Michigan in turn immediately filed for a temporary restraining order that would allow Harbaugh to coach through his suspension. There was some confusion on which judge exactly was going to hear the case, but either of the rumored judges were Michigan grads, so on paper, this hearing looked like a one-way ticket to a kangaroo court. 

Watching the two pregame shows in the morning leading into the Michigan vs. Penn State kickoff, it almost felt like TMZ had taken over production overnight, with plenty of “will he or won’t he coach” speculation running wild. 

It got to the point that with all the drama building up, I half-expected the TRO to be granted at 11:50 a.m., Harbaugh to arrive via chopper, immediately use a rope to shimmy down to the 50-yard line, rip open his shirt, bang on his chest, scream the new Michigan war cry of “bet,” then proceed to coach against Penn State.

The thought vanished like a cloud of smoke when reports circulated that the court would not rule on the request in time for kickoff and instead set up an in-person hearing for Friday. Regardless of how the case plays out, Harbaugh will have at least served a one-game suspension. 

Only, if Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti really wanted to stick it to Michigan, he should have suspended James Franklin instead. 

Big Game James struck early and often throughout the Nittany Lions’ 24-15 loss, as he made ill-advised decisions that included chasing points in the second quarter, burning a second-half timeout on 4th-and-short only to punt anyway and ending a comeback attempt prematurely by going for two when kicking a PAT would have made it an eight-point game. In short, Franklin got outcoached by a team without a head coach. 

Things got pretty ugly in Happy Valley as Franklin headed back to the locker room after the contest, as PSU fans are clearly unhappy with getting the same result in big games over and over again. 

Franklin retorted by offering PSU fans a sacrifice as he fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich on Sunday after two anemic offensive performances against two top-five teams. With Yurcich fired, Franklin will be looking for his sixth offensive coordinator in his PSU tenure. 

As for Michigan, the on-field product frankly turned into a bit of a running joke (I couldn't help myself, I'm sorry). The Wolverines ran the ball 32 (!) straight times (on plays that counted) to end the game, with quarterback J.J. McCarthy attempting only eight passes all game, all of them coming in the first half. Running back Blake Corum did most of the heavy lifting, running for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. 

Shortly after the victory, acting head coach Sherrone Moore gave a tearful postgame interview about what the win means to the program, himself and Harbaugh.

It would have been a heartwarming moment, except: 

  • Harbaugh is just suspended, man, he’s not fighting for his life. 
  • Michigan isn’t the victim here, it’s a program that clearly broke rules to gain an advantage. How much there was to be gained from it and who exactly knew the full scope is open to interpretation, but no one outside of Michigan is feeling sorry for them. 

Ohio State and the Ann Arbor Astros will play for a Big Ten Championship spot and probably the right to go to the College Football Playoff in less than two weeks. Will Harbaugh be on the sidelines? Will Ryan Day get redemption from the past two years? We’re about to find out.

Ohio State spotlight of the week: Heading into Ann Arbor healthy

If OSU played Michigan State in October, the score probably would have been even more lopsided than the 38-3 win the Buckeyes turned in on Saturday. Alas, once OSU took a 35-3 lead into halftime, Day was content to call off the dogs and rest most of his starters on offense and defense for the majority of the second half. 

Should the Buckeyes take a large lead over Minnesota this weekend, expect more of the same. With several key players on both sides of the ball having bumps and bruises, Day wants to limit the tread on the tires as much as he can so he can have as healthy of a squad as possible for the game that will define the Buckeyes’ season in two weeks. OSU doesn’t care how much it wins by at this point, it just cares about winning. 

One game, two coaches fired

Have we ever seen a game that wasn’t a season finale that resulted in both coaches getting fired? Well, even if we hadn’t, we have now. 

After Texas A&M pulverized Mississippi State 51-10, the Aggie administration said “That’s enough outta you Jimbo Fisher, time to get the hell outta here” and canned him on Sunday.

Wait, huh? 

Don’t get me wrong, Fisher had to go for vastly underachieving in his A&M tenure, it’s just the optics of firing a coach the day after a 41-point win are hilarious.

On Monday, Mississippi State followed suit and fired head coach Zach Arnett, the guy who actually got his teeth kicked in. Arnett took over the MSU program after the tragic death of Mike Leach last December and was given a shot to keep the job on a full-time basis. He lasted 10 games and now is a good candidate to be Alex Grinch’s replacement at USC. 

Stark difference in buyout money between these two guys, though. Fisher will be paid $77.6 million to go away, which is a great gig if you can get it. Arnett will be paid between $4-6 million, which could also be mitigated if he gets a job elsewhere. 

We’ve officially entered silly season in the CFB world, so I may have some thoughts on good fits for the open coaching jobs so far next week.

And then there were (still) seven

With two weeks left of the regular season, seven out of 133 FBS teams are still undefeated. 

Big Ten: Ohio State (10-0), Michigan (10-0)

ACC: Florida State (10-0)

SEC: Georgia (10-0)

Pac-12: Washington (10-0)

Group of Five: Liberty (10-0), James Madison (10-0)

What was fun and what was wacky about Week 11

Week 11 had a lot of things that were fun

  • A quarterback lining up as a wide receiver isn’t gimmicky enough for our tastes, so shoutout to Syracuse signal caller Garrett Shrader for doing a literal backflip midplay.
  • Arkansas didn’t do much right on Saturday, but this hit was fun. 
  • Ole Miss got its teeth kicked in by Georgia, but wideout Dayton Wade may have made the catch of the year.
  • Fun troll celebration by Penn State, wonder if OSU can top it in two weeks.
  • Credit where credit is due to Michigan, the Wolverines hadn’t allowed an opponent to run a play inside its 10-yard line for 502 straight defensive plays until PSU snapped that streak Saturday. 
  • Arizona continues to have a fun season.
  • Illinois has to start a backup quarterback, then John Paddock goes on to throw for 507 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-45 overtime win against Indiana.

Week 11 had a lot of wacky things, too

  • We have Puddles the Duck transforming… into a smaller duck?
  • Washington linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala with the worst mistake of the week.
  • We already clowned on Franklin for going for two down by nine, but Lincoln Riley did the same thing for USC during the Trojans’ loss to Oregon. 
  • Hang on, I thought USC fired this guy? 
  • Can you call an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the refs?
  • The ref in the Georgia Southern vs. Marshall game pays for the sins of the ref above.
  • Looks like Dabo Swinney and Clemson caught the “run a fake punt when it’s not supposed to be a fake punt” disease from Ohio State.
  • The costumed Cavalier was heartbroken Virginia gave up a touchdown on a blocked punt.
  • Way to use your head, Cincy.
  • Uh, is Washington State’s mascot Butch having hot flashes?
  • Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma, then gets embarrassed 45-3 by UCF the next week. Sometimes you can’t predict this beautiful sport. 
  • Can’t say I’ve ever seen a “tush push” play result in a defensive touchdown until now.
  • I have to know how one gets access to the tunnel where the players enter and use it to own Lincoln Riley on behalf of the Sooners.
  • Elite level of accuracy from Graham Mertz.

Nepotism tracker 

How about those Iowa Hawkeyes? Not only did Brian Ferentz heroically lead Iowa to a point total that starts what a two, but his inspired coaching through adversity singlehandedly led to the Hawkeyes shutting out Rutgers as well. Truly inspirational stuff. 

The goal: 325 points across 13 games, for an average of 25 points per game so Brian Ferentz can keep working for his dad, even though he’s already been fired. 

Last game: Iowa 22, Rutgers 0

Points tallied this season: 188

If the season ended today: Iowa would average 18.8 points per game. Sure, that’s 123rd in the country for scoring offense, but it ain’t last, baby! (Even if it’s only 10 spots from being last). 

Up next: Iowa faces Illinois, which allowed 45 points to Indiana in a 48-45 overtime victory.

Game of the Week

No. 5 Washington at No. 10 Oregon State, 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Season record: 5-6-1

My pick: Oregon State in a pick ‘em

Breakdown: We’re in a bit of a cold streak, but that ends this week. Washington has been playing with fire the past few weeks but has somehow survived. In a road matchup against a team with plenty of motivation to play spoiler, that ends this week.

Hodgepodge team classifiers after Week 11

If they win out, they’re going to the CFP: Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State, Georgia, Washington

Good chance to get in the CFP if they win out: Alabama, Texas, Oregon 

Still alive for the CFP if they win out but need help: Louisville

New Year’s Six Bowl contenders: Penn State, Ole Miss, Liberty, Tulane, Missouri, Oregon State, Oklahoma

They’re bowl eligible, so that’s something: Oklahoma State, Utah, Boston College, Rutgers, Tennessee, North Carolina, Miami, Kansas State, Kansas, UCLA, SMU, Memphis, New Mexico State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Toledo, Fresno State, UNLV, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy, Duke, Arizona, Air Force, North Carolina, LSU, Notre Dame, Wyoming, Kentucky, UTSA, Coastal Carolina, Texas State, West Virginia, North Carolina State, Bowling Green, Maryland, Iowa State

Somehow going to win the B1G West: Iowa

Motivated by Tyler from Spartanburg: Clemson

No Grinch, same problems: USC

Fired coaches club: Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Boise State

Retired coaches club: San Diego State

This team is STILL undefeated but ineligible for any postseason since it’s in its second year of transition to the FBS: James Madison

This team is bowl-eligible but won’t play in a bowl because of the same dumb rule: Jacksonville State

Shoulder shrug: BYU, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Auburn, UCF, Illinois

There’s an interim coach, but he’s done pretty well all things considered: Northwestern 

Not great, Bob: Texas Tech, Virginia, Baylor, Purdue, Arizona State, Stanford, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Cincinnati, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Cal, Houston, Virginia Tech

Probably going to fire the coach but playing better: Indiana

What a collapse after promising starts: Washington State, Colorado

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