If Ohio State fans were hoping Michigan would get slammed with a massive punishment for the whole sign-stealing scandal, they're about to be pretty disappointed.
Based on Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel’s latest comments, it doesn’t sound like the Wolverines are facing anything close to what Buckeye fans—or other Big Ten rivals—were hoping for.
In a recent interview with Michigan Insider, Manuel made it clear on Tuesday that there have been zero conversations about postseason bans for Michigan football.
"I have not had any conversation about postseason bans or penalties that are coming," Manuel said. "What I can point to is that Charlie Baker, when we won the championship, said they won it fair and square. That's something I can say that gives me some sense that they understand that this was a team who won that championship fair and square. I look at that, and as we move forward, we'll see how it goes."
The expectation—or let’s be real, the hope—from Buckeye Nation (and other Big Ten fanbases) was that Michigan would get absolutely hammered. We’re talking postseason bans, scholarship reductions, maybe even something close to the “death penalty.”
But that’s most likely not going to happen. The NCAA hasn’t been known for dropping the hammer on big programs lately, and it sure doesn’t look like Michigan is about to be the exception. Regardless of where you stand on whether the Wolverines deserve a major punishment, one thing is clear: it'd be surprising at this point if Michigan received any kind of significant punishment.
Perhaps the NCAA will surprise everyone and make a decision that greatly penalizes Michigan. Maybe Manuel is just making these statements to serve as a preface for things to come.
In the end, we believe that the Wolverines will be punished in some way, but the longer this investigation goes and the more we hear from Manuel, it doesn't sound like opposing fanbases will be happy when the final verdict is rendered.