Jim Harbaugh remained the king of awkward addressing Michigan handling outside noise

2023-11-21 07:18

With plenty attention on the sidelines and not in the field for Michigan-Ohio State, Jim Harbaugh gave us a weird line to deal with it

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is no stranger to a weird soundbite, even in the midst of his ongoing suspension, the result of the sign-stealing operation that was recently revealed to be transpiring in Ann Arbor.

The Monday after the Wolverines' narrow road win over Maryland, though, Harbaugh delivered an all-timer.

As noted by Zach Shaw of 247Sports, Harbaugh was asked about the state of the Michigan locker room, saying, "With all the outside noise, our locker room's in one piece. Like my locker rooms like my mom's bathing suits; in one piece."

You definitely had that on the Bingo card for college footbal quotes this season, right?

Jim Harbaugh says Michigan locker room is in one piece, just like his mom's bathing suits

Harbaugh will have been on the sidelines for as many games as he's also been suspended when the Michigan regular season concludes in Week 13 against Ohio State. He was sidelined for the first three games of the year due to recruiting violations by NCAA rules, and is now the fall guy for the sign-stealing operation and the Big Ten's punishment.

Over the past few weeks in wins over Penn State and Maryland, though, Michigan has seemingly felt the effects of not having its head coach with offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore serving as the interim. The passing game, in particular, has taken a step back with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback. But can a diminished Wolverines team still beat Ohio State in The Game?

Michigan's offense will have a lot of challenges if their passing game isn't ready to go with Ohio State's defense, a unit that's proven itself time and again throughout the season. If Ohio State is able to load the box against Blake Corum and Michigan is unable to rely on McCarthy in the passing attack, that could be in favor of the Buckeyes.

On the flip side, though, the Michigan defense has not dropped off outside of the letdown game against Maryland. And we've seen Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord struggle at times this season, including making some near-costly mistakes. Perhaps the Wolverines can take advantage of that.

But for now, we know that Harbaugh's locker room is the way he likes his mom's bathing suits. What a season it's been in Ann Arbor...