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Kwix

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Posts posted by Kwix

  1. 11 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

    https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-tcu-knew-of-michigans-sign-stealing-scheme-prior-to-cfp-game-used-dummy-signals-to-dupe-wolverines-224848698.html

     

     

     

     

     

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    A week into the saga, most know the details by now: A now-suspended Michigan analyst, Connor Stalions, purchased tickets to more than 40 college football games in an effort to record opponents’ signals in what has been unearthed as an elaborate, three-year scheme that has rocked the sport. In news first reported by Yahoo Sports last Thursday, the NCAA is investigating the program for a violation of the association’s rules around in-person scouting.

    Over the last seven days, more news connected to the case has trickled out from various media outlets.

    Most recently, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that an outside investigative firm first tipped off the NCAA last week to Michigan’s sign-stealing scheme, presenting officials with documents uncovered from computers maintained and accessed by UM coaches that outlined the system, including travel schedules and expenses for future trips.

    On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that NCAA investigators were on campus at Michigan gathering information for the probe.

    The breadth of the scheme appears to be massive. Stalions purchased tickets to games at 12 of 13 Big Ten schools for a total of 30 games, according to a Monday report from ESPN. At least one of the schools produced in-stadium surveillance video of someone recording the sideline in the seat Stalions booked. He also purchased tickets to games involving CFP contenders like Tennessee, Georgia, Oregon, Florida and Clemson, as well as the last two SEC championship games, Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday.

    In one instance, Stalions bought a ticket to Tennessee’s game against Kentucky last season in view of the Volunteers’ sideline. Three minutes after the purchase, he transferred the ticket, presumably, to an associate or friend designated to record the game.

    At TCU, the school has found no evidence that Stalions purchased a ticket to a home game last season, but there were ample opportunities to record the Horned Frogs in road games or in the Big 12 championship against Kansas State.

    Not long after the CFP unveiled the 2022 semifinal matchups — Georgia vs. Ohio State and TCU vs. Michigan — the Horned Frogs staff began receiving phone calls from coaches across the country about what was a well-known fact in the Big Ten coaching community: that Michigan had an elaborate sign-stealing system.

    Many of those on the TCU staff were unaware before the calls. Coaches from several Big Ten schools, including Ohio State, informed TCU coaches of the scheme.

    “Literally everybody we talked to knew,” said one TCU coach. “They’d say, ‘Just so you know, they steal your signals and they’re going to have everything so you better change them.’”

    One coach told the staff that Michigan “has the most elaborate signal-stealing in the history of the world.”

    TCU changed some of the signals. More interesting, though, is that they purposely used the old signals to trick the Wolverines — a move not-so-surprising given the savvy nature of their head coach. Dykes is a protégé of Mike Leach, a coach known for poking fun at those who steal signals. In one game while coach at Washington State, Leach learned that the coach of his team’s next opponent, Arizona State's Todd Graham, was notorious for stealing signals. During the game against ASU, Leach aggressively flashed signals toward Graham in a hilarious moment that’s made the rounds on social media over the last few days.

    Plenty of folks see much of Leach in Dykes. And so why not give the Wolverines some of their own medicine?

    Dykes and staff crafted a game plan that, at least in part, used the dummy signals to fool coach Jim Harbaugh and signaler Stalions. TCU scored first-half touchdowns on drives of 10 plays for 83 yards and 12 plays for 76 yards.

    “The guy (Stalions) was wrong a couple of times,” one TCU staff member said. “We rewatched the TV version of the game. You can see him standing next to the defensive coordinator. He tells something to the coordinator and he points in the air to mean pass. You can see the playsheet he’s holding with our hand signs on them.”

    TCU did a variety of measures to avoid the issue beyond changing some signs. The staff purposely signaled in plays late as to not leave enough time for Stalions to relay the signal to coaches.

    “There are some times in the game that they still got us,” a TCU staff member said, “especially on short-yardage.”

    Signal-stealing is not against NCAA rules. However, the association prohibits coaches or staff members scouting games of upcoming opponents in person — a near 30-year-old rule. Stealing an opponent’s signals during a game or from the television broadcast is not against NCAA rules. In fact, it’s quite common in college football.

    Through history, plenty of opposing coaches have been caught by rival schools scouting games, spring games or practices, yet many of them go unpublicized and are quietly dealt with by the NCAA.

    The Michigan case represents the largest scale sign-stealing scheme ever publicized in the recent history of college sports. It’s no surprise that the system eventually leaked because of its sheer size and foolish moves.

    Stalions bought tickets in his own name and Michigan staff members used large white playsheets during games on the sideline that showed the opposing team’s hand signals in black — still shots of which have made their way across the internet.

    Big Ten coaches caught on long ago.

    As Yahoo Sports reported last week, news of the sign-stealing spread enough that multiple Michigan opponents this season dropped their signaling and used wristbands for much of the offensive play-calling during the game against the Wolverines.

    “We heard they had a guy pick plays pretty good and had all this information from not your typical ways of getting the signals,” a Big Ten staff member said. “We get into the game and it’s the second quarter. I see him across the field and he’s checking his 11x17 sheet.”

    The sign-stealing dates back to at least 2021, according to sources. The Wolverines have won 33 of their last 36 games dating back to that season. Michigan is 8-0 and ranked No. 2 this season and are on a bye this week before a home game against Purdue on Nov. 4.

    A timeline for the NCAA’s investigation is unclear. It only started last week. NCAA inquiries such as this often extend months, if not years, and feature an even more lengthy appeals process that could delay any potential penalties levied.

     

     

     

    And here's The Stallion on the sidelines of the TCU game:

     

    vrbo-fiesta-bowl-michigan-v-tcu.jpg?s=20

     

     

    Wow, I almost hate dykes a little less. 

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  2. 3 minutes ago, Juicy said:

    The crazy part about the video that everyone is up in arms about, is..... that it resulted in a TD. Michigan signaled pass, ohio state still scored a TD after the entire defense knew what was coming. 

    So it's OK to cheat if your opponent manages some level of success at any point in the game? 

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  3. 1 hour ago, Laxtonto said:

    heath ledger joker GIF

     

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    The sign-stealing investigation threatening to disrupt Michigan’s football season began after an outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with documents and videos the firm said it had obtained from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple Michigan coaches, according to two people familiar with the matter, evidence that suggests the scandal’s impact could broaden beyond the suspension of one low-level assistant.

     

    These people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about an ongoing NCAA investigation. They did not disclose who hired the outside firm that approached the NCAA. The NCAA, the Big Ten and Michigan declined to comment.

    Last week, the Big Ten confirmed published reports that the NCAA was investigating allegations that Michigan had sent people connected to its football program to attend the games of opponents and videotape coaches as they signaled in plays, in violation of the rules that govern college football. Michigan suspended Connor Stalions, a football assistant ESPN reported was suspected of overseeing the alleged sign-stealing operation. Coach Jim Harbaugh, in a statement, denied any knowledge of or involvement in any such scheme.

     
     

    While NCAA rules do not explicitly prohibit sign-stealing — the practice of decoding signals opposing coaches use to send in play calls to players on the field — the organization does ban video-recording opposing coaches, as well as in-person scouting of upcoming opponents. And according to the investigation conducted by this outside firm, Michigan football has been utilizing a sign-stealing operation involving both in-person scouting as well as video-recording coaches, these people said, since at least last season, when the team went 13-1, winning a second consecutive Big Ten title before losing in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

    The outside firm’s investigation began this season, these people said, and involved interviews with people knowledgeable about Michigan football’s scouting operations, as well as reviewing documents and videos related to sign-stealing efforts. Last Tuesday, these people said, this firm presented its evidence to top NCAA officials. The next day, the Big Ten later confirmed, the NCAA informed both the conference and Michigan that it had opened an investigation.

    Stalions played a major role in overseeing and coordinating sign-stealing efforts, the outside investigation found, but the firm’s evidence suggested he wasn’t acting alone. The outside firm did not present any evidence directly linking Harbaugh to the sign-stealing operation, according to the people with knowledge. In the days since Stalions’ name circulated as a key figure in the investigation, videos and photos circulated on social media taken during Michigan games showing him standing near coaches, including the team’s defensive and co-offensive coordinators.

    Among the pieces of evidence the firm presented, these people said, was a detailed schedule of Michigan’s planned sign-stealing travel for the rest of this season, listing opponents’ schedules, which games Michigan scouts would attend, and how much money was budgeted for travel and tickets to scout each team.

    The opponents targeted the most on this schedule, these people said, were not surprising. Atop the list was Ohio State, Michigan’s top rival in the Big Ten, and scouts planned to attend as many as eight games, costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets. Next on the list was Georgia, a potential Michigan opponent in the College Football Playoff, with four or five games scheduled for in-person scouting and video-recording, also costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets.

    In total, these people said, Michigan’s sign-stealing operation expected to spend more than $15,000 this season sending scouts to more than 40 games played by 10 opponents. According to the university’s public salary disclosure records, Stalions, listed as an administrative specialist in the athletics department, made $55,000 in 2022.

    Stalions did not reply to a message left at a phone number listed to him seeking comment. Stalions is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps who started working as an analyst for Michigan football last season, according to a profile from January 2022 published on the website Soldiers To Sidelines.

    The outside firm also presented to NCAA officials photographs of people investigators believed to be Michigan scouts in action — including current students interning with the football team. The photos showed these people seated at games of Michigan opponents this season, aiming their cellphones at the sidelines. Days later, the outside firm told the NCAA, cellphone videos depicting the coaching staffs from these games were uploaded to a computer drive maintained and accessed by Stalions as well as several other Michigan assistants and coaches.

    No timeline has been disclosed for when the NCAA could conclude its investigation. Harbaugh, in his statement, said he and his staff will “fully cooperate” with the NCAA investigation. The news came just months after an earlier NCAA investigation of Michigan concluded with a finding that Harbaugh violated recruiting rules and failed to cooperate with investigators. The university suspended Harbaugh for three games at the beginning of this season as a result.

    On the field, Michigan again is competing for a national title under Harbaugh, with an 8-0 record. Last Saturday, the team’s first game since allegations of sign-stealing emerged, Michigan thrashed Michigan State, 49-0. Currently on a bye week, the Wolverines’ next game is at home against Purdue on Nov. 4.

     

    So the next question.  Does this firm give their findings directly to the Big10?  If I was Michigan I would be more worried about the conference than the NCAA.

  4. 14 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

    Would be fascinating to hear the conversations inside other programs right now about shutting down whatever sign-stealing operations they have. A few Conor-Stalion-alikes for other programs being fitted for concrete shoes.

    Every time I see a coach come out saying it's no big deal, I imagine this is what's going on behind the scenes.

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  5. 1 hour ago, MirrOlure said:

    So I was thinking this through (as best as I am able) the fact that we don't play them, and the possible tie scenarios involving 1 loss teams.  If OSU runs the table, that obviously tags OU with a loss.  If us, OSU and OU all have one loss, we'd have between the three:

    OSU 1-0

    OU 1-1

    Texas 0-1

    Do they run the schedule comparison in that scenario?  Or are we on the outside looking in no matter what?

    Bottom line to all this is if Kansas beats OU, then its all moot as either OU or OSU would have 2 losses after Bedlam if KU wins.

    I believe in this scenario, you work your way down the list of common conference opponents.  OSU's loss to ISU (shared opponent of all 3 teams) knocks them out.

  6. 2 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

    Our red zone woes this year are well documented. Sark hardliners blame the players. Those of us who see we have a pretty damn good roster (certainly the best in the Big 12) think it’s a Sark issue. Either way to have the roster and the OC we do (O Line issues aside—which again this is now Sark’s team):

    Obviously this was posted before the UofH game but it’s inexcusable. The good news is we are 6-1 which speaks to the talent on our roster and the perseverance of the players as well. We keep fighting which is one thing I love and do give Sark credit for. We keep punching. This stat though: to be at the basement of the Big 12 on this is not acceptable. Not with our stable of RBs and WRs. Quinn is pretty damn accurate for the most part through games. You got to look at the play calling I guess and to a lesser extent player execution. 

    At least we beat "Show more". 

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  7. 2 minutes ago, utexas8 said:

     

     

     


    This is crazy to me. Everyone still believes in Texas except for us lol. I don’t see it, with ewers out and the defense getting worse + all the injuries. We can beat BYU without ewers but k state won’t be easy.

    I guess it helps that all the top teams minus Michigan have played down to their opponents too.

     

     

    Nothing too crazy about that projection.  Basically saying Washington drops a game and Texas wins out.  Getting healthy will be the biggest factor for Texas.  Not trending in the right direction at the moment.

     

    There's going to be fans for every team in every sport who will still bitch after a win, especially a close one against a lesser opponent.  There are plenty of Texas fans that still believe a CFP spot is attainable.  They just aren't the vocal ones at the moment.

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