The NCAA isn't what it used to be.

A once powerful, mysterious figure looming over college football with the power to deliver 'death penalties' and other harsh punishments for programs over the years has been neutered and turned into a shadow of what it once was.

Now, college football is everything the NCAA fought so hard to go against. Players seeking payment, players freely coming and going with the transfer portal, and the general lawless land the modern state of college football has become.

Every once in a while, the NCAA wakes up from its slumber to try and prove that it does have some firepower left in the chamber of its muzzle-loaded Civil War-era musket that has the aiming capabilities of a Stormtrooper.

In the case of the NCAA's investigation of Michigan, the NCAA decided to use one of its last gasps of breath to scapegoat Jim Harbaugh, who had the guts to tell them that they were barking up the wrong tree.

And, to be honest, who can blame Harbaugh for thinking this way?

Remember his saying that it's hard to beat the cheaters? Just look at Tennessee, whose previous coach was caught paying recruits. The general punishments the program received seemed like a slap on the wrist compared to Harbaugh's four-game suspension for cheeseburgers and COVID workout watching.

The cover-up is worse than the crime, you can certainly make that argument, but in a world where the NCAA's resources can be better served to try to quell programs from openly paying-to-play in the transfer portal and recruiting, Harbaugh telling the NCAA to shove it seems the least of its concerns.

Claiming ignorance led the NCAA to flex its tiny muscles to try and show it has some control over the modern landscape of college football.

In the meantime, Leslie Nielson is directing traffic while the building is exploding and burning in the background.

"Please disperse! Nothing to see here!"

In fact, there's plenty to see.

Harbaugh would rather negotiate a four-game suspension to make the NCAA go away rather than admit to lying to investigators about the crux of its investigation.

Who can blame him?

Of course, there are some ripple effects that will result from this as it appears that both Sherrone Moore and Grant Newsome will each receive a one-game suspension in the process.

With the non-conference schedule the way that it is, sticking it to the NCAA in a negotiated settlement while not publicly admitting to any wrongdoing shows just how useless the resources were wasted on this entire investigation.

What's akin to a toddler temper tantrum in the middle of a grocery store after being told it couldn't have the candy, Harbaugh's stubbornness and refusal to cooperate resulted in the NCAA taking its ball and running home.

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