Michigan played its fourth game of the season without head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh began serving his second suspension of the season after the Big Ten imposed a three-game ban for breaking sportsmanship rules against on-site scouting of opponents' signs. And the Wolverines played, for the first time this season, against an opponent that actually seemed as if it might have a shot to win.
All of this constituted potentially seismic shifts in the Big Ten's power structure, and yet, when the dust settled on Michigan's 24-15 win, we were left with the same story we've seen all season.