Yeah I'm going to stop you right there @DarkoStateNews and tell you the fallacies in your argument: This is exactly why your poker analogy doesn't work. Poker has one variable: the cards. Football has hundreds. You're assuming the NCAA violation automatically explains Michigan's success. Those are two separate arguments. If Michigan's rise was simply Connor Stallions, explain the timeline. Stallions had been around the program since roughly 2018. During that stretch, Michigan: • Lost 62-39 to Ohio State in 2018. • Lost again in 2019. • Got physically dominated by Wisconsin. • Finished 2-4 in 2020. If sign stealing was the secret ingredient, why wasn't Michigan elite from 2018 through 2020? The actual turning point wasn't Connor Stallions. It was football. In 2021 Jim Harbaugh hired Mike Macdonald from the Baltimore Ravens. Michigan completely changed defensively. Don Brown's defense relied heavily on aggressive man coverage, single-high looks, and pressure packages that elite offenses repeatedly exposed. Macdonald installed NFL concepts: • split-safety coverages • disguised fronts • simulated pressures • adaptable game plans • improved gap discipline Michigan immediately became one of the smartest and most disciplined defenses in college football. Then Jesse Minter took over in 2022 and 2023 and didn't miss a beat. Michigan fielded another elite defense, won a national championship, and Minter left for the NFL because of the work he produced. Mike Macdonald also returned to the NFL, coordinated one of the league's best defenses, and became an NFL head coach and a SUPER BOWL CHAMPION. Elite coaches continued being elite after leaving Michigan. Jim Harbaugh's coaching résumé speaks for itself. He rebuilt Stanford, took the 49ers to multiple NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl, rebuilt Michigan, Then immediately returned to the NFL and changed another organization's culture. That isn't something Connor Stallions created. Ben Herbert built arguably the most physical team in college football. You don't fake fourth-quarter dominance, offensive line development, defensive line play, or conditioning with stolen signals. Then look at the players. Blake Corum (RB1B Rams) Mike Sainristil (Starting CB Washington) Aidan Hutchinson (Starting Edge Detriot) Josiah Stewart (Starting LB Rams) Josh Wallace (Starting CB Rams) Colston Loveland (Starting TE Bears) Super Bowl Champion AJ Barner (Starting TE Seahawks) Those players didn't become NFL-caliber talent because someone knew a sideline signal. They became NFL players because they were developed. Your argument also ignores what happened after the investigation became public. Michigan beat Penn State at HAPPY VALLEY by running the ball 32 CONSECUTIVE times. Michigan beat Ohio State in 2023. Then beat Alabama. Then beat Washington. Those teams had weeks to prepare, access to Michigan's film, and knew exactly what Michigan wanted to do. The games were decided by execution, talent, coaching, and physicality. You also ignore that Ohio State reportedly changed its signals in 2022 and still lost 45-23. That game was decided by explosive plays, missed tackles, busted coverages, and Michigan winning the line of scrimmage. Knowing a signal doesn't force a safety to take a bad angle on an 80-yard touchdown. The TCU game cuts against your argument as well. Michigan scored 45 points and outgained TCU but lost because of two pick-sixes, a goal-line fumble, defensive busts, and red-zone mistakes. Execution decided that game. None of this is saying Michigan didn't violate NCAA rules. If the NCAA says the advanced scouting violated its rules, then Michigan violated those rules. The leap you're making is saying that because a rule was broken, every win from 2021 through 2023 is automatically illegitimate. That's an opinion, not a conclusion established by the evidence. Michigan's turnaround lines up with modernizing its schemes, hiring Mike Macdonald, retaining that defensive identity under Jesse Minter, improving strength and conditioning under Ben Herbert, developing NFL talent, and becoming one of the nation's most physical teams. Connor Stallions may have broken NCAA rules. But reducing three years of elite coaching, player development, and championship-level football to one staffer ignores nearly everything that actually happened on the field and is BAD FAITH.
