Jim Harbaugh Calls Out James Franklin After Michigan Tunnel Incident

The head coach responded to Penn State’s complaints about the tunnel.

The rivalry between Michigan and Penn State continues.

Last week, James Franklin criticized the layout of a tunnel in Michigan Stadium, which was the home to a halftime shouting match between the teams two weeks ago. The Wolverines dominated the Nittany Lions in the second half after the altercation occurred.

“The one tunnel is a problem and has been,” Franklin said. “We’re not the first team to get into a jawing match in the tunnel.”

In response, Harbaugh said that Penn State instigated the fight.

“All they’ve got to do is walk into their locker room,” he said, via Austin Meek of The Athletic. “You saw pretty clearly that they completely stopped and weren’t letting us get up the tunnel. It seemed like such a sophomoric ploy to try to keep us out of our locker room. It looked like [Franklin] was the ringleader of the whole thing.”

Harbaugh added that he doesn’t think this needs to be addressed further.

“I have bigger fish to fry than worry about that kind of whining,” he said.

Michigan and Penn State have been rivals since the 1990s, and Harbaugh and Franklin have coached against each other every season since Harbaugh was hired in 2015. The two sides know each other very well and are very clearly not afraid to publicly jaw at each other.

These two teams will not play each other again this season, but when they meet next season, there is sure to be even more fireworks.

• Wolverine Digest: James Franklin Awfully Whiny After Being Embarrassed In Ann Arbor