Boo Corrigan on Michigan sign-stealing investigation: 'We really view it as an NCAA issue not a CFP issue'

College Football Playoff selection committee chair Boo Corrigan on Tuesday expressed that the committee doesn’t feel it’s their job to address the Michigan sign-stealing scandal in their rankings. Michigan placed No. 3 in the initial CFP rankings released on Tuesday evening.

As the NCAA investigation into Michigan bleeds into a third week — and will likely take months — Corrigan indicated the group of people charged with picking the playoff field aren’t factoring in the NCAA probe of the Wolverines. He explained some of their thinking to ESPN on the rankings reveal show.

“Our job as we look at it is to rank the teams and to follow our protocols,” Corrigan said. “As we went through it, that wasn’t part of any of the discussions that occurred during our time together.”

He continued, saying the issue was an NCAA issue, not one for the College Football Playoff committee to be in the business of addressing. Corrigan reiterated their focus was on producing a ranking of the Top 25 teams that have played this year, an exercise that would seemingly have to include the Wolverines.

“We really view it as an NCAA issue, not a CFP issue. At this point in time, as we’re looking at this, we want to make sure we get — not just the top four teams but the top 25 teams, right?” Corrigan said.

What Michigan does about the future of Jim Harbaugh could send a message

ESPN’s Pete Thamel joined The Pat McAfee Show to drop some knowledge on Jim Harbaugh and Michigan’s sign-stealing investigation on Tuesday.

First, Thamel touched on the ramifications of Harbaugh’s potential extension, the one that the Wolverines are reportedly attempting to get done at an expedited rate amid all the drama.

“I was cautioned the other night to not report that the contract offer has been rescinded. It did seem logical that there would be a bit of a pause,” Thamel reported of Harbaugh’s situation. “I will say this, if you go back to last year, when he had his flirtation with the Broncos, and then the year before on signing day, when he interviewed with the Vikings, there’s been some flirtations. There’s a new president at Michigan. … I think he realizes that Jim Harbaugh is an asset to the University of Michigan, in a significant way. Look, Bill Self got a lifetime contract while they were under NCAA investigation from the federal basketball scandal.

“If there is a contract given to Jim Harbaugh in the upcoming weeks, it would really be one of the ultimate middle fingers to the enforcement folks in Indianapolis. Basically saying what the NCAA says and rules doesn’t matter, the University of Michigan is just going to plow on. It doesn’t really care about your multiple investigations.”