News Flash: Michigan players support Jim Harbaugh before the Ohio State match.

Michigan’s Ann Arbor Both teams will be vying for a ticket in the College Football Playoff and a position in the Big Ten Championship game when Michigan takes on Ohio State on Saturday.

However, head coach Jim Harbaugh won’t be seeing the Wolverines play.

Harbaugh will not be able to coach the third-ranked Wolverines for the sixth game of this season due to a suspension. Still, with unbeaten Michigan hosting second-ranked Ohio State, this is the biggest game of the season with the greatest amount on the line.

Harbaugh’s absence hasn’t impacted the confidence from Michigan’s players and coaches though.

“A lot of us would run through a wall for (Harbaugh), so it’s definitely been tough and going into the game without him, this is kind of just like adding fuel to the fire,” Wolverines running back Blake Corum said Monday.

“We will play; we weren’t going to play lightly, but we could play a little harder for him and make sure we give him the game ball when the game is over. We’ll make sure we do that for Coach because if you give a game ball to someone and you say you’re going to give one to someone, you have to win.”

The Big Ten Conference has suspended Harbaugh for three games, with the third game of his suspension due to charges that Connor Stalions, a former employee, ran an in-person scouting operation to steal play calls and signals.

Additionally, due to a self-imposed suspension resulting from an unrelated NCAA investigation, Harbaugh missed the first three games of the season.

“We will play; we weren’t going to play lightly, but we could play a little harder for him and make sure we give him the game ball when the game is over. We’ll make sure we do that for Coach because if you give a game ball to someone and you say you’re going to give one to someone, you have to win.”

The Big Ten Conference has suspended Harbaugh for three games, with the third game of his suspension due to charges that Connor Stalions, a former employee, ran an in-person scouting operation to steal play calls and signals.

Additionally, due to a self-imposed suspension resulting from an unrelated NCAA investigation, Harbaugh missed the first three games of the season.

McCarthy thinks that even though this is a historic rivalry that has great significance for both institutions this season, they have experienced enough life without Harbaugh to be ready to handle any additional pressure or special situations that may come against Ohio State.

“Just the whole process and throughout the day of just not having him there,” said McCarthy. “It was unusual at first, but now that I’ve had that experience and know how it functions, as well as how the coaches approach coaching the game and respond to particular situations, things are different. We have one of the larger games coming Saturday, so it’s going to be amazing for us.”

Harbaugh talked about giving his coaches the freedom to manage this without him, calling his club a battle-tested one. He likened the sounds outside as a high-pitched siren that he had managed to become used to.

“I revisit the “Ted Lasso” program,” Harbaugh declared. “Consider. That leads to believing, and for that, my staff and I are incredibly proud. Our locker room is intact despite that loudness. Like Ted, I too prefer to view my mother’s bathing clothes in their entirety, so a locker room and I are similar in that regard.”

Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who will act as the head coach for the fourth time this season, acknowledged that this game means more, but he doesn’t anticipate it changing how the players work or prepare during the week.

Moore remarked, “We all know what it means—it’s the game.” It’s the one you work for all year, the one you practice and perform for. Since everyone is aware of the risks, we will have an opportunity to win the Big Ten title again. We’re trying to keep the words and preparation, which will be released later in the week, at a low simmer this time around because things may quickly spiral out of control.

“The kids are as prepared mentally and physically as they’ll ever be to get ready for this week.”