Jim Harbaugh addresses postgame handshake with Ryan Walters after Michigan vs. Purdue

As Michigan prepared to take on Purdue, chatter continued to get louder about the ongoing NCAA investigation into sign-stealing allegations against the Wolverines. Boilermakers coach Ryan Walters also made waves when he addressed the situation and said his team had to learn “a new language” to make sure their signs weren’t compromised.

That was one of the storylines heading into Saturday’s prime time game. Afterward, some speculated about what appeared to be a chilly postgame handshake between Walters and Jim Harbaugh.

In his postgame press conference, though, Harbaugh said it was nothing out of the ordinary and downplayed what looked to be a quick exchange after Michigan’s 41-13 victory.

Appropriately icy pic.twitter.com/s4EbdZtCep

— Due# (@JDue51) November 5, 2023

“[It was a] typical postgame handshake,” Harbaugh said, via The Wolverine’s Clayton Sayfie.

Walters raised some eyebrows during his radio show this week with how candid he was about the alleged sign-stealing against Michigan. Multiple reports indicate former analyst Connor Stalions bought tickets to Big Ten teams’ games as well as those of possible College Football Playoff opponents.

Walters addressed that situation and his reaction to the allegations on Thursday, saying “they aren’t allegations” against Michigan.

“It’s unfortunate,” Walters said Thursday on his radio show. “And what’s crazy is they aren’t allegations. It happened. There’s video evidence, there’s ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games. We’ve had to teach our guys a new language, in terms of some signals and we will operate differently offensively. You might see us in a huddle for the first time this season. It is what it is. But we’re excited to go play, and I think it’ll make for a great story.”

A day later, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Purdue had surveillance footage of people sitting in seats at Ross-Ade Stadium purchased by Stalions and filming the opposing sideline. Dellenger reported Stalions bought tickets to six Purdue games over the last two seasons.

That report came amid multiple meetings between Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and conference coaches and athletic directors. On Wednesday, the coaches called for Petitti to take action against Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines, wondering why it’s taking so long for the conference to step in, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported.

Then, on Thursday, Petitti met with Big Ten athletic directors to discuss the situation, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel. The ADs also urged the conference to take action and voiced support for whatever decision the league made on a penalty.

Petitti has the authority to punish Michigan because of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship clause, which is about the “integrity of competition” in the “competitive arena,” if the discipline is “standard” or “major.”