Michigan Should Be Banned From Playoffs, If Enough Evidence Is Found Before NCAA Finishes Investigation | Glenn Guilbeau

Nobody seems to want to deal with the University of Michigan football program as of yet.

The program appears guilty of breaking NCAA rules by cheating to gain an unfair advantage in games through a systemic and sinister scouting and sign stealing operation. This involves multiple football staffers and may reach to the very top of the Michigan program.

At least, that's what it looks like. A thorough NCAA investigation is needed to prove the above claims that may take so much time that it will last past the current football season. But if the NCAA has already found or soon can find enough damaging evidence, it should suspend Michigan immediately from the 2023 College Football Playoff. And it can finish its investigation later. It shouldn't wait. Too much is at stake.

The NCAA does not seem interested in doing that. New president Charlie Baker has talked a good game about several matters since taking over in March. But he has been strangely and cowardly silent about Michigan.

The Big Ten Conference office also appears understandably conflicted. This is because Michigan may be the league's best chance to win its first CFP national championship since Ohio State in 2014.

And there is the College Football Playoff 13-member selection committee. These people select the teams for the four-team playoff that begins on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl in the semifinals. And CFP committee chairman Boo Corrigan is staying out of it.

Jim Harbaugh watches his team warm up before playing at Nebraska in the 2021 season. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

"Our mission as a committee is to judge the teams that are eligible for postseason," Corrigan said Tuesday night on ESPN during its unveiling of the CFP's second top 25, leading up to the playoffs. "And until something changes in that, we're going to continue to follow that track. This is not a CFP selection committee issue."

By definition, though, the selection committee selects teams on a wide variety of data. One should possibly be whether or not No. 3 Michigan (9-0) cheated to win any of its games in 2023.

"Michigan should be banned from the College Football Playoffs until the investigation is complete," ESPN host Stephen A. Smith said recently.

In the United States court system, though, people and institutions are innocent until proven guilty - not punished until proven innocent. But the NCAA is not in the court system. Historically, if it smells like cheating and seems like cheating, it's cheating, according to the NCAA. It's a membership, and that's how it is.

The NCAA may already have enough to ban Michigan now from the postseason. It may have already received an unfair advantage for some of its wins this season. That would be fair to the other teams who have not cheated - or have not been proven guilty of cheating - through sign stealing or any other way.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule called the situation with Michigan "kind of crappy." (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

"This is kind of crappy," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said at a recent press conference. "My No. 1 job is to always advocate for these guys (his players). I want the 60 minutes of the game to be fair, not tilted one way or the other."

Nebraska lost 45-7 to Michigan on Sept. 30. Michigan likely could have won that game and most of its games so far this season without cheating because it has had one of the easiest schedules in college football so far. Then again, every win by Michigan this season is suspect because of the cheating scandal.

"Jim Harbaugh certainly reaped the benefits of this cheating that crossed ethical lines, moral lines and has obviously gone too far," ESPN host Pat McAfee said recently.

Michigan Wolverines Still No. 3 In CFP Rankings

Yet, Michigan and Harbaugh remain No. 3 in the latest CFP poll going into their game Saturday at No. 10 Penn State (8-1). Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti is expected to make some kind of comment or decision on Michigan on Wednesday.

Pettiti's office informed Michigan this week that it has the authority to impose discipline on it under the Big Ten sportsmanship policy before the NCAA investigative process finishes. Some say such disciplinary action at this time means Michigan will sue the Big Ten. No big woo. Schools and coaches always say they're going to sue whether they're guilty or not.

Recently fired Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker recently sued about his firing. He's still fired. Recently fired Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald recently sued Northwestern about his firing. He's still fired.

So, depending on what Pettiti and the Big Ten do, Michigan may not be in the CFP rankings next week. Let them sue.

"Nobody wants criticism. That's why I work so hard to do everything right, um, on and off the field," Harbaugh said.

Yeah, that looked and sounded very hard to believe.

The Big Ten needs to step up where no one else has and do something.

The rest of the CFP rankings of football programs not under any major NCAA investigations went this way.

The top eight remained identical to last week with No. 1 Ohio State, followed by No. 2 Georgia, (No. 3 Michigan), No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Texas and No. 8 Alabama.

Ole Miss is No. 9 and Penn State No. 10.

The second 10 featured Louisville, Oregon State, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Utah, LSU and Notre Dame. At 21 was Arizona, followed by Iowa, Tulane, North Carolina and Kansas State.

The NCAA, the CFP selection committee and the Big Ten need to remember this. You are still working in a university system, I don't care how much money all the jocks and jock sniffers make. It's still about education. So you should listen to what Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said about Michigan.

"I want to do things right," he said. "So our players learn the difference between right and wrong."