College Football: Michigan is allegedly Stealing other Teams’ Signs
By: Matthew Rouker 11/13/23
Week nine of college football just came to a conclusion, and there are some pretty interesting storylines happening right now, especially at the University of Michigan where there have been some severe allegations regarding sign stealing. Sign stealing is decoding another team’s signs to determine which play they are running. If you can figure them out it provides a major advantage to your team. Sign stealing is actually legal as long as you don’t travel somewhere else to figure them out. The problem is that that is exactly what Michigan did.
On October 20th, news broke that Michigan had been stealing signs from other teams. As previously mentioned, the way that Michigan had stolen signs is what got them into trouble. Connor Stalions, a lifelong Michigan fan and current staff member at Michigan University, had traveled to games of other Big Ten schools and even potential playoff contenders, to record and eventually decode their signs. After figuring out their signs, he would wait until the time came to use this knowledge. Once it was time for Michigan to play these schools, he would communicate to the coaches what plays their opponent was calling and give his team a significant advantage.
Michigans 2020-2021 record
Many Big Ten coaches have voiced their opinions on the Michigan scandal. During a video call that included Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, Big Ten coaches expressed their belief that Michigan should be punished immediately for their actions. If you would like to know how impactful this sign-stealing was, simply look at Michigan’s 2020-21 season. Without the ability to travel to games, Michigan had a poor record of just 2-4. The next season though, when they regained the ability to travel to teams’ games and scout them, Michigan went 12-0 and made the College Football Playoffs.
Last month, a picture was leaked that may have shown the aforementioned Connor Stalions standing on the Central Michigan sideline during a Central Michigan vs. Michigan State game. Connor Stalions, a Michigan staff member, had no reason to be standing on another team’s sideline unless he was doing something wrong. It is believed that if Stalions is the person in the picture, he likely snuck onto CMU sidelines to record and steal rival school Michigan State’s signs. When Edgewood student, Eric Peden, was asked about his opinion on these allegations he said, “I think it isn’t fair for other teams that work harder and earn less.”
The Big Ten has issued a disciplinary warning to the University of Michigan, and we await their decision. Potential consequences could include the suspension of Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh, or the barring of an appearance in the Big Ten championship game and the College Football Playoffs.
To learn more about this controversy click this link or look the situation up yourself.