Todd Blackledge weighs in on potential Michigan-MSU night game, Jim Harbaugh suspension, expectations for Wolverines

INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh is reportedly likely to receive a four-game suspension for an alleged NCAA violation that he failed to cooperate with investigators who were looking into minor violations within the program.

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The Detroit News reported that Harbaugh’s suspension would be only for game days, and that he’d be allowed to coach during the week. For NBC analyst Todd Blackledge, that makes a huge difference.The analyst believes that Michigan won’t be impacted much if the Wolverines are without Harbaugh against East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers.

“It’s at a point in their schedule, if it’s the first four games, where they can probably survive it better than any other time during the season,” Blackledge said. “That’s a case also where if that happens, you trust some of your veteran leaders in the locker room, like ‘we’re not going to let this sway us.’

“The talk out of Ann Arbor when you talk to the players — whether it’s [senior running back] Blake Corum coming back, [junior quarterback] J.J. McCarthy, any of those — is, we’ve tasted the playoffs, we’ve won the Big Ten championship, but we still got more work to do. So I think they’re very focused and very determined.

“If they have to deal with a suspension of their head coach for four weeks, they’re not going to let that derail what they’re trying to do.”

Michigan reportedly to play MSU at night in East Lansing

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported Wednesday that Michigan’s Oct. 21 clash at Michigan State will be in primetime in East Lansing. That would mark the first night game in the series at MSU, and the third overall.

After the Wolverines dominated the Spartans last fall, winning 29-7, multiple MSU players, unprovoked, attacked U-M athletes in The Big House tunnel. That game was played at night.

“I don’t know if that one is confirmed yet or not,” Blackledge said of the kick time. “I do know that I did that game last year in primetime, and it was kind of an ugly ordeal at the end of that game. That was shortly after that thing they had in the tunnel with Penn State. That was an unfortunate, ugly situation.

“Aside from that, I’ve done that game before, and it’s just such an intense rivalry, in-state rivalry. There’s an attitude on both sides as they approach that game. If we do that game in East Lansing this year, that’d be fun, because I like those kind of rivalry games.”

‘Jim’s most talented roster’

Michigan was picked by the media to win the Big Ten in 2023, after the Wolverines have been crowned champs each of the last two seasons. Blackledge believes the Maize and Blue have as good of a shot as they’ve had to compete for the national championship.

“I think this is probably going to be maybe Jim’s most talented roster that he’s had,” Blackledge explained. “Are they as talented as Ohio State? I don’t know, maybe not, just top to bottom. Are they as talented as Georgia or Alabama? I don’t know, maybe not. But I do think this is a very, very talented team. 

“The one questionable area that is not elite right now is the wide receiver position. There’s nobody that jumps out as just being an elite player. But I think they’ve got intangible things like toughness and chemistry and leadership that put them in a position to be able to say, ‘Yeah, I think we can win the whole thing.’”

Michigan made the CFP in 2021 and 2022 but is looking for more. McCarthy could be a big part of what takes it to the next level, plus Corum’s stunning return gives them one of the game’s top stars.

“They’ve been very close, and I think they might have the team to do it,” Blackledge continued. “The fact that J.J. has a whole year under his belt, played very well in big moments … he seems to be unflappable. I did the Fiesta Bowl, and even the way that he recovered and responded after some costly interceptions, pick-sixes, and to come back out and just keep grinding, it was very, very impressive. He’ll be even better.

“Blake Corum is back to his old form. I did the Illinois game, and if he didn’t get hurt, he’s on his way to New York. He may not win the Heisman, but he’s definitely in New York as one of the top three or four guys. He’s a special player. You get him and [Michigan junior running back] Donovan [Edwards] back fully healthy this year … there’s a lot for them to be excited about.