Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo: 'Michigan thinks they're above the law'

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo joined ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday to deliver a scathing rant on the Michigan Wolverines. It comes in light of their punishments from the NCAA regarding their sign-stealing scandal.

The analyst took shots at Jim Harbaugh, Sherrone Moore and the program as a whole in the process. Russo accused Harbaugh of running away from Ann Arbor to the NFL to avoid punishment, while Moore was left having to answer for the team’s misgivings.

“I’m mad at [Jim] Harbaugh, who didn’t want to answer any questions yesterday. What a job by Tony Petitti two years ago, the Big Ten Commissioner, who had the guts to suspend Harbaugh for a couple of games because of that sign-stealing thing, with the kid (Connor Stalions) on the sidelines, the offensive coach,” Russo stated. “How about the NCAA? They gave Michigan a $30 million fine. They suspended an extra game on (Sherrone Moore). He got two, now he has three. They embarrassed him to no end. Harbaugh ran out of town when the running was good to go to the Chargers.

“They can play in the postseason. We can argue about that, whether the NCAA didn’t go far enough, ‘We don’t want to punish the current Wolverines player,’ that’s debatable. Here’s what I like about it. Michigan likes to think that they’re Notre Dame. It drives me crazy. ‘We’re Michigan, and you ain’t. We’re the great Michigan.’ Great university. All the great things that Michigan has done, and you know Michigan showed?

“Michigan showed that they’d do the same thing that you do down the street to win a ball game. They did that against Central Michigan, they were stealing signs. I know those Michigan folks right now have to be embarrassed.”

In the end, Russo thinks Michigan is of the opinion that they’re above the law, and they don’t need to answer for what they did: “But here’s what I do think, Michigan thinks they’re above the law,” he added. “Michigan thinks, ‘We don’t have to do that, we’re Michigan. We play in The Big House, 102,000 people. We’re a great academic university.’ All that nonsense, that garbage that I can’t stand. This puts that to rest forever. Michigan was desperate to win, and they cheated to do it.

“That, to me, what you saw with the NCAA, they owe Petitti an apology. All those fans killed Petitti forever, that Big Ten Commissioner. They booed the hell out of him when he went to Indianapolis to give them the Big Ten trophy, when they won the Big Ten Championship Game. He turned out to be 100% right, and the NCAA verified it.”

All told, Michigan fans may be willing to trade their punishment for a national title, but it’s evident Chris “Mad Dog” Russo isn’t satisfied. How the Wolverines silence their critics in 2025 will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow this season.