College football is home to some of the best rivalries in sports, the greatest storylines and Cinderella stories and more. But now, it seems it’s becoming increasingly riddled with cheating. From bribing recruits to steroid usage, the sport has truly seen it all, but it recently underwent a new issue in sign stealing.

The University of Michigan Wolverines, and more specifically head coach Jim Harbaugh, received flack for tactics used by a Michigan employee, specifically a 20-something ex-military vacuum salesman named Connor Stalions (yes, this is a real name). Essentially, Stalions ran a detailed, yet crazy operation in which he paid other individuals to attend dozens of potential opponents’ games in order to film their coaches signaling play calls from the sideline.

Traditionally, the NCAA has had no problem with stealing signs from a TV recording or a game tape. However, you’re not allowed to go in-person and scout out the team’s signs that way. I guess Stalions saw his chance to recruit random people and Venmo them (I wish this was a joke but this is truly real as I write this) to hangout and steal signs.

As a result, Harbaugh was suspended for the rest of the regular season, which albeit was three games, but three critical games on their path to the playoffs, including one against their infamous rival, the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

Why would Stalions go to this length? What was his stake in all of this? Well, as a longtime Michigan fan, it could be simply chalked up to a guy who just wanted to make his longtime team proud and help them win no matter what. Or, it could be a guy destined to ensure the security of his new job. I don’t think we’ll ever truly know the schematics, but it brings a couple of things to light.
Number one, there’s been an ongoing debate on whether or not this is cheating, or if it’s a big deal at all? Personally, I’ve been going back and forth on this mainly because I think cheating across the board should not be given leniency. I think a lot of the issue with this scandal revolves around what people think cheating actually is. If you can sign steal in some capacity, why does it matter the manner? Make better signs that are complicated and not available to steal!

Well, you look at it on the other hand, and you could say if you allow one avenue of cheating, you open the door for every other possibility. And let’s be real, Michigan is a powerhouse, steamrolling every opponent it comes near, including top rival Ohio State. Why even cheat at all when you’re so good?

I think I can honestly put the sign stealing aside now because in my eyes, there’s no debate. They stole signs. Whether or not that actually helped their game, we probably will never know, but we can’t deny the basic facts.

What is truly annoying is how they are painting Harbaugh out to be this martyr who, even though is suspended and truly living his best life with his $7.63 million salary, is being referenced as if he died in a tragic accident.

Listen, I get it, you love your coach, but the guy either knew and allowed the sign stealing to go on, or didn’t know and he is a coach who has no insider knowledge of what goes on inside his own team. It doesn’t look great either way for Harbaugh.

Personally, I don’t think there’s much of an argument you can make that the Michigan Wolverines didn’t cheat in some capacity. But hey, that’s becoming the nature of many programs trying to create a dynasty in college football.

Also, I didn’t even touch on my favorite part about Stalions which is the manifesto he wrote about his plans for Michigan becoming a dynasty football team, and then you just realize how crazy this situation truly is.

All in all, Michigan should receive the flack they got for cheating and stealing signs, but man has this been a funny story to really investigate. Honestly, with the way the Wolverines are playing regardless of the scandal, they seem to be an absolute juggernaut and I expect them to be extremely competitive, and will probably be there in the College Football Playoffs. But until then, their coaching and their sign stealing drama will now be a blemish on their season as a whole.