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James Franklin Predicted the Michigan-Michigan State Incident

The Penn State coach said 'something bad is going to happen' unless the Big Ten regulates Michigan Stadium tunnel access.

Mark Wogenrich

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Police are investigating what Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called the assault of two of his players following the Michigan-Michigan State game Saturday.

The incident occurred in a hallway off Michigan Stadium's single tunnel to the locker rooms, where media members, including Matt Charboneau of the Detroit News, recorded video.

Michigan State announced Sunday that it has suspended four players and is working with police.

The incident occurred five days after Harbaugh said Penn State coach James Franklin engaged in "whining" when he brought up a halftime incident during the Penn State-Michigan game Oct. 15. Franklin said the teams were "jawing" while headed toward their locker rooms and warned that a a future situation could be worse unless the Big Ten intervened.

"I prefer to talk about these things in the offseason, but the one tunnel is a problem," Franklin said at his Oct. 18 press conference. "It's a problem and has been. To me, we need to put a policy in place from a conference perspective in my mind that's going to stop [it]. We're not the first team to kind of get into a jawing match in the tunnel. For me, I want to focus on getting my team into the locker room and not jawing back and forth."

According to a Michigan statement, university and state police are investigating the incident. Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel called the situation "completely and utterly unacceptable." Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said on Twitter that, "there is no excuse for behavior that puts our team or our opponents at risk."

Last week, Harbaugh said Penn State engaged in a "sophomoric" ploy by blocking the tunnel and preventing Michigan from accessing its locker room at halftime. Harbaugh added that it "look like [Franklin] was the ringleader of the whole thing."

"But no, I've got bigger fish to fry than worry about that kind of whining," Harbaugh said at his Oct. 24 press conference.

The week prior, Franklin said that the Big Ten should regulate access to the Michigan Stadium locker rooms via the one tunnel. The coach added that "something bad is going to happen before we put in that policy."

"There really should be a policy that [when the] first team that goes in, there is a buffer," Franklin said. "If not, this team starts talking to this team, they start jawing back and forth, and something bad is going to happen before we put in the policy.

"All there has to be a two-minute or a minute buffer in between the two teams. This team is in before that team gets close, or however we want to do it. But we're not the first team that's had issues like that. To me, under the current structure, we won't be the last. To me, there is a really easy solution. We've got to do it. But for me, I want to get our team in the locker room. That's my concern."

Ohio State and Michigan clashed in the tunnel at halftime of their 2021 game. 12 game. Teams playing at Michigan Stadium have been sharing the tunnel to the locker room since 1927.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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