'The Simpsons' takes hilarious shot at Jim Harbaugh during Christmas Eve episode

Sunday’s Christmas Eve episode of “The Simpsons” saw multiple sports parodies — from “LIV Pickleball” to “Dean Belichick” running the University of Springfield Camp (USC). Toward the end of the episode, though, the show took aim at Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.

The episode centered around Homer and Bart Simpson cheating at various games. Marge also altered an image of Lisa rowing to get her into USC, and that meant the family had to go in front of Dean Belichick. During the meeting, he said USC “decided to own cheating,” and Lisa turns him down.

But Bart winds up teaching a class at the school, and it took place in the “Jim Harbaugh Center for Competitive Imbalance.”

‘The Simpsons’ roasts Jim Harbaugh, USC, Bill Belichick and more, with some help from Dan Patrick https://t.co/PpkaMcrjwH pic.twitter.com/vuIanJ2SD8

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 25, 2023

Of course, the spoof is referencing the sign-stealing scandal at Michigan this year. Former staffer Connor Stalions allegedly orchestrated the plan, for which he paid for tickets to multiple Big Ten and potential College Football Playoff opponents to record the sidelines and steal signs over the last two seasons.

The situation led the Big Ten to suspend Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season, and despite a possible legal challenge, he accepted the ban and watched the final three games from afar. Michigan won out, and Harbaugh returned to the sidelines for the Big Ten Championship, which the Wolverines won over Iowa. That sent them back to the CFP for the third straight year.

As the inquiry into the program unfolded, though, the CFP committee faced questions about whether Michigan should be in the rankings. Committee chairman Boo Corrigan and executive director Bill Hancock both addressed that topic, saying multiple times it was an “NCAA issue” and not for the CFP to decide.

“We are not a governance body,” Hancock said on a teleconference with reporters shortly after the NCAA began its investigation. “And so we’re certainly all aware of the Michigan situation, but it’s just not a CFP matter. We will take what we get from the NCAA or from anybody else, and whatever facts are available to those other groups, then we’ll consider it. But all we do is rank the teams that are eligible for our games.”

Michigan is now getting ready to take on Alabama in the Rose Bowl with a trip to the national championship on the line. It’s the Wolverines’ third consecutive semifinal appearance, and they’re hoping they can finally get over the hump and into the title game.