Bruce Feldman identifies overlooked stories in college football due to Michigan scandal

Michigan, for all kinds of reasons on and off the field, is the talk of college football. However, Bruce Feldman believes that fans may be missing the forest for the trees when it comes to this season because of what’s going down in Ann Arbor.

Feldman spoke about some storyline that fans may be missing during an appearance on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ on Wednesday. He pointed out how, because of the Wolverine’s scandal, we’re missing the impact of key games, such as what took place in Stillwater last weekend, and what’s happening in conferences, from top to bottom, like in the Pac-12.

“I think we’re missing the end of a lot of stuff,” said Feldman. “Last week? Bedlam, the series between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, pretty much came to an end. And Oklahoma State, which has really struggled in that series? They won. That’s a huge win for that program.”

“We’re seeing a lot of stuff. The Pac-12 is going to go away. We’re seeing some really cool stories that are playing out,” Feldman said. “A lot of us, especially out here where we live, got caught up in the shiny object, which is USC and its struggles. But we’re, like, kind of missing what’s going on with Arizona? They have surged from the ashes and turned out to be a really good program. They have a bunch of wins over ranked teams. We’re seeing a terrific couple of programs in the Pacific Northwest in Washington and Oregon.”

This season is unlike any other considering how much will be changing before the next one. All the conferences are making additions or subtractions. The sport is also preparing for a new format to decide its national champion.

There’s a reason that the sign-stealing saga is as big as it is. Even so, Feldman hopes that fans don’t miss the final days of this era of college football because too much of their attention is on disdain for the maize and blue.

“To some degree, that has gotten overshadowed by what has gone on the last two weeks. I get why it has,” said Feldman. “You just have a lot of cool stories that are kind of getting squeezed a little bit.”

Big Ten weighing ‘gamut’ of discipline for Michigan, Jim Harbaugh

Many are expecting some punishment to come shortly for Michigan, Jim Harbaugh, or both.

On Thursday, Heather Dinich, while making an appearance on ‘Get Up’, explained the wide ranging possibilities for a penalty.

“I’ve learned that people should not assume that Jim Harbaugh is going to be suspended, though that is certainly a consideration,” Dinich said. “The Big Ten has run a gamut of possibilities, starting with a possible indefinite suspension, a two-year suspension, all the way to something as simple as a public reprimand. The other thing that you could possibly see is a fine of $1 million dollars or more, which would probably be rubberstamped, so stay tuned.”

Dinich also reported that the Big Ten has not started its own investigation into the Michigan program. However, the conference does believe it has the evidence needed to move forward.

“Now, there are two separate things going on here. One, the NCAA is doing its own investigation. My understanding is that the Big Ten has not initiated its own investigation,” Dinich said. “It’s relying on information it has gathered from the NCAA, in part, and following other reports that have come out.”

“But the sense is that the Big Ten has enough information to prove Michigan broke its sportsmanship policy by illegally stealing signs. My sources are telling me that no evidence has come through yet that shows Jim Harbaugh knew about this or orchestrated it.”