Most people don’t think of “Office Space” as a football movie. For very good reason.

There isn’t a single reference to football in the film — unless there’s a waiter wearing a football-related piece of flair.

But there is a scene in the movie that is applicable to the home stretch of the 2023 Big Ten football season.

Rather than forcing a confrontation with the now-unemployed Milton Waddams (yes, Milton has a full name, which could come useful in future rounds of bar trivia), consultants Bob & Bob announce that they’ve “fixed the glitch.”

On Monday, Iowa announced that it too is fixing the glitch.

Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will remain in his role for the rest of the season, but will not return in 2024.

New Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz put her foot down, making sure this is the end of Ferentz’s tenure regardless of what his dad thinks about the matter.

There was surely an awkward confrontation behind the scenes. Kirk Ferentz is an Iowa institution, which made firing his son a task that previous AD Gary Barta was unable to pull off.

But the way it’s being handled has a very “Office Space” feel to it.

Like Milton, Brian is going to show up to work after the company laid him off. Though at least in Brian’s case, he’ll only be showing up for 5 more games after being let go rather than 5 more years. And Goetz probably didn’t try to take away his stapler.

Iowa has seemingly fixed its glitch, though there’s no telling how Kirk Ferentz will respond to it at the end of the season. The real drama could be awaiting in December. Or maybe this is the height of it.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, on the other hand, has his own uncomfortable confrontation awaiting. And it isn’t going away anytime soon.

The B1G’s big dilemma

On the field, Michigan’s 2023 season is unfolding in a way that has the Wolverines looking like the Big Ten’s best title hopeful since Ohio State in 2014. If Michigan does win it all, it would only be the B1G’s 3rd national title in football of the 21st century.

That possibility gives the conference every incentive to see the Wolverines succeed.

Instead, Michigan’s suspected actions — breaking NCAA rules in the process of electronically stealing signs from opponents — have us in a very different place.

Only Michigan wants to see Michigan succeed. The other 13 B1G schools are likely out for Wolverine blood.

That dynamic creates a heck of a dilemma for new Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. He wants to win a title, but he’d probably like not having 92.8% of his constituents angry over that outcome.

Petitti was brought to the Big Ten for his prowess navigating the sports media landscape, not for his experience wading through politics and doling out punishment.

The meticulous NCAA investigation process will take months to unfold and could even extend into next season. By that time, Jim Harbaugh is likely to be in Chicago or some other NFL city currently saddled with a head coach who couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper bag.

Only the Big Ten has the authority to put a preemptive stop to Michigan’s College Football Playoff drive. Anything the NCAA does will be retroactive.

But why would the Big Ten want to do that?

Undercutting Michigan harms the B1G’s bottom line. And as we have seen with the conference’s predatory dismantling of the Pac-12, the bottom line is the B1G’s primary driver. Any semblance of moral authority is well out the window.

So why would the now-Machiavellian Big Ten take an action that would benefit another conference in the CFP race?

Petitti has to be hoping that someone fixes the glitch before he’s forced to take action himself. And that means a little help from Ohio State, Penn State, or both.

At this point, the prospect of handing the Big Ten championship trophy to Harbaugh looms as even more awkward and uncomfortable than, well, any other public interaction with Harbaugh. Being able to hand it to Ryan Day would come as a relief.

It’s a similar situation for the CFP committee.

Obviously, they can’t penalize Michigan for an unproven accusation. But these people do not live underneath rocks. They are all fully cognizant that there’s a chance this Michigan team will have its accomplishments stripped away at some point. Clearly, they’d prefer a field with 4 teams that do not present that concern.

It may well take 2 losses for the Wolverines to be left out of the CFP, which is where Penn State could come to the collective rescue.

Of course, this is Jim Harbaugh we are talking about. Which means the most uncomfortable, adversarial and awkward outcome is the most likely.

Think of the moment in 2009 when Pete Carroll asked Harbaugh, “What’s your deal, man?” after Stanford went for 2 to complete a 55-21 win over USC. Harbaugh’s reply — “What’s your deal?” — was him at his socially odd best.

And you get the idea that we may have several podium visits in the coming months that channel that spirit.

Unless, of course, someone manages to fix the glitch.