Michigan is under investigation for alleged scandal; did they beat OSU fairly these past years?

Whenever your University of Michigan friends or family try to bring up the fact the Wolverines have beat the Buckeyes for the past two years, you can now bring up the fact that allegedly, they violated the rules, and some people don’t think they fairly won the iconic game.

Rumor (and alleged evidence) has it, Michigan violated NCAA rules, with ESPN and Yahoo Sports reports finding that their alleged violations started back in 2021, which is when Michigan finally beat OSU. The reports say that a Michigan analyst allegedly was partaking in “sign-stealing,” which technically isn’t illegal so long as the data is collected from broadcast film or exchanges. However, that’s not the case in this situation.

Here’s what you need to know, all from the ESPN report:

• Michigan is under NCAA investigation for alleged in-person scouting to steal play-call signals from opponents 
• The investigation is centered around Connor Stalions, Michigan’s analyst, who purchased tickets in his own name for more than 30 games over the past three years at 11 different Big Ten schools
• ESPN cited a source saying the programs used “an ‘elaborate’ scouting system to steal signals from future opponents since at least 2021,” including both video evidence of electronics prohibited by the NCAA to steal signs, and a paper trail
• An opposing Big Ten school looked up in-stadium surveillance video from a game earlier this year, and sources said the person in the seat of the ticket purchased by Stalions held his smartphone up and appeared to film the home team’s sideline the entire game.
• Sources confirmed to ESPN that Stalions purchased tickets on both sides of the stadium — across from each bench — for Ohio State’s game with Penn State on Saturday. Michigan plays both teams in upcoming weeks. However, Stallions did not show up Saturday – his name emerged publicly in an ESPN story the day before the game. 
• Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh released a statement denying any knowledge of a sign-stealing operation or NCAA rules breaking. Stalions did not respond to ESPN’s request for comment.

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With all of this alleged evidence of sign-stealing being captured on film, it’s possible that the Wolverines could face a lot of scrutiny for violating NCAA rules. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in a month, when it’s our turn to play them, hopefully fair and square.

As always, Go Bucks!