Ever since the 1800s, the University of Michigan has always been a titan in the college football scene. Their forty-four conference titles and eleven National Championships have built an unbreakable legacy future generations will always look up to. Players from Tom Brady to Charles Woodson have stepped foot through these gates and have created a sense of hard work and dedication that leads to success. Their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, preaches the amount of time and practice it takes to become the best. Another thing that helps success is cheating, and Michigan is good at that too.
In October, Michigan staffer, Connor Stalions, was exposed for his master plan. This intricate system of stealing signs seemed too perfect to be ruined, but all good things come to an end. According to CBS Sports, Stalions bought tickets to over thirty games over the last three years, where the Wolverines went 34-3. The three losses within this period were against Michigan State and Georgia in 2021 and TCU in 2022. As most know, the college football season contains three benchmarks, regular season, conference championships, and the college football playoff. The idea of stealing signs can only work on games that can be prepared for, and it shows with these losses. Throughout the Big Ten seasons, Michigan has lost only one game, with the upset by their “little brother program”, Michigan State. The other two losses came during the playoffs, where Michigan got ‘dawged on’ by the Georgia Bulldogs, 34-11. After this season, Michigan fans had hoped that 2022 would be different but were let down when TCU pulled off a hard-fought win, 51-45. As reported by CBS Sports, the Horned Frogs supposedly were warned of the cheating when they played this game, as TCU’s staff used fake signals to tip off Michigan’s team, which led to the victory. TCU would go on to lose in massive fashion to Georgia, with a historic score of 65-7. Both Michigan and TCU looked like fools after this loss, and respect for both programs dwindled. As I look at this situation, many red flags go off in my mind. Michigan had the talent to pull off a championship season, or so it looked. How can a team be so dominant during games that are on their schedule, yet choke when the pressure hits? It seems the answer is simple, the team relied on these signs to win games.
When the news broke, it was not long for more evidence to pop up. When the NCAA opened up the investigation, multiple teams stated they knew about Michigan’s foul play, according to Yahoo Sports. As more information poured onto the scene, Jim Harbaugh denied knowing of any misconduct going on within their scouting program. This is not Jim’s first rodeo when it comes to scandals. This year alone he was suspended for three games due to illegal recruiting. This recruiting case is not resolved either, as the case will be investigated in the off-season of 2024. The evidence against Michigan continues to stack as the official ticket purchases get released, which stretches from Big Ten opponents to playoff contenders. The man behind this, Stalions, went into hiding. He deleted his LinkedIn and stopped contact with the public. During this, investigators found a 600-page document which he self-proclaimed as “The Michigan Manifesto”, as reported by Sports Illustrated. Lastly, some Division Three coaches came forward about being hired to snoop. This “Manifesto” has many stages and is being unraveled more and more. All of this evidence will lead to a further investigation and case from the Big Ten.
As of right now, the NCAA should practically move to the city of Ann Arbor and make camp. The Michigan Wolverines are currently a frontrunner in the National Championship run, but the scandal could put a halt to this success. A situation like this has not been seen on a full-team scale in the NCAA. Michigan has denied Harbaugh’s contract extension and has fired Connor Stalions as well. Currently, Central Michigan University and the NCAA are investigating Stalions’s sideline actions, and many Big Ten athletic directors and presidents are firing backlash at Michigan. The real truth is, every team does this, but Michigan falls to the short end of the stick once again. The conference will perform some disciplinary action, but the verdict will not be out for months to come. Until then, make sure you keep your playbook safe and your signs private, you never know where Michigan might be hiding.
