Scarlet Sunrise: Big Ten coaches reportedly calling for league to take action against Michigan

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Buckeyes football, recruiting, basketball and more in Scarlet Sunrise.

Big Ten coaches reportedly calling for league to take action against Michigan

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported in the final hour Wednesday night that a “vast majority of the Big Ten coaches” aired out their frustrations over the alleged Michigan sign-stealing operation during a video call with first-year commissioner Tony Petitti.

The last hour of the approximately 90-minute call didn’t include Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, per Thamel. As a result, Big Ten coaches were able to openly discuss the NCAA investigation with Petitti, according to Thamel’s report.

Thamel reported that his sources described the call “both intense and emotional,” and, most notably, it featured Big Ten coaches urging Petitti to take action against Michigan.

After all, the Big Ten coaches acknowledged on the call that the NCAA likely wouldn’t bring down a punishment during the season, Thamel reported.

The Big Ten, on the other hand, has the ability to discipline Michigan and/or members of the coaching staff under its Sportsmanship Policy.

An important part of the call, according to Thamel’s reporting, was Big Ten coaches explaining to Petitti how Michigan’s alleged illegal sign stealing — which allegedly consisted of in-person scouting, including recorded sideline signaling — has given the Wolverines an edge the last three years, during which they’re 33-3 overall and 22-1 in Big Ten competition.

Petitti didn’t indicate on the call if he would or wouldn’t follow through with action against Michigan, according to Thamel’s report.

RELATED

• Ohio State reportedly one of several Big Ten schools to alert TCU of Michigan sign stealing
• Ryan Day, Jim Knowles decline to comment on alleged sign-stealing operation at Michigan
• Michigan staffer reportedly bought but didn’t use Ohio State-Penn State tickets

Kyle McCord’s ankle ‘feeling pretty good,’ set for Rutgers matchup

Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord isn’t 100%. But that doesn’t mean he’s missing time. McCord was noticeably hobbled in a 24-10 win at Wisconsin last weekend. But he said Wednesday that his left ankle — which he initially injured at Notre Dame in September — didn’t hurt as bad as he thought it would after the game in Madison.

He noted Wednesday that he’s “feeling pretty good.”

“It’s not ideal,” McCord said. “Just powering through it, pushing through the pain. The biggest thing is learning how to play with it. And I think it’s been getting better every single week. And, you know, just learning how to move on it a little bit and stuff like that.”

For more details, go here.

Buckeyes finally seeing progress, ‘step in the right direction’ in running game

There are a handful of reasons why — and a big one is the return of dynamic running back TreVeyon Henderson — but the Ohio State run game took a “step in the right direction” at Wisconsin.

“Where we go from here, we’ll see,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “But I thought we ran off the ball better, I thought we got good movement. I thought you know, Tre ran hard. And that combination of things really helped, boosted our run game. We’ll see where that takes us on Saturday against Rutgers.”

Lettermen Row has the latest on a Buckeyes rushing attack that might be finally turning the corner after a sometimes up but mostly down first two months of the season.

Check it out here.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Rutgers: 2 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 23 days

Are you subscribed yet?

Are you ready to get all your latest Ohio State news in one place? Become a member of Lettermen Row today. With your Lettermen Row/On3+ membership, you’ll not only have access to everything that’s happening with the Buckeyes, but you’ll also be able to peruse other fan sites within the network to hear just how rivals are feeling about Ohio State, as well. Make sure to follow along on X, Instagram and on Youtube for all the latest Buckeyes news you need to know.