Michigan Football Steals Headlines – October 28

Michigan football has a long and storied history. It is the winningest college football program in the history of the game. Current head coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football is currently embroiled in a huge scandal and it is all over the news outlets. You can’t scroll through sports news on your mobile device without coming across Michigan football and this sign-stealing ordeal.

The Wolverines are currently the No. 2-ranked team in the latest AP college football poll. Michigan football is 8-0 and is favored to be one of the four teams selected to play in this year’s College Football Playoff. This week, they are off and even so, they’re stealing headlines. They have a bye week, which probably works out just fine for the Wolverines. Let the college football world focus on teams playing today and not on Michigan football. At least, that’s what Michigan football would like.

Michigan Football Sign Stealing

If you’re living in a bubble and don’t know the story, here’s what’s happening with Michigan football. The Wolverines are accused of stealing the signals that opponents use to call their plays. Most college football teams use some sort of signaling system to call offensive (and defensive) plays. It was reported that Michigan football had sent representatives to games to record the sideline operations of future opponents.

Now, the stealing of the signals itself is not prohibited by the NCAA. Teams can steal the signals of opponents as long as 1) it doesn’t involve the use of electronic equipment and 2) it doesn’t involve going off-campus and scouting an opponent in-person. NCAA bylaw 11.6.1 states that “off-campus, in-person scouting (in the same season) is prohibited…”

Why Michigan Football Is in Trouble

College football fans can say what they want about sign stealing, however, it is not against the rules. In fact, it happens all the time. Teams will try to decode what other teams are doing with their signals during games. And, it’s perfectly within the rules of the game.

Why Michigan football is in trouble here is because someone in the program violated NCAA bylaw 11.6.1. Now, my Sports Hub software has a unique connection to Michigan and Michigan football. It also has an interesting connection to one Connor Stalions. He’s the Michigan staffer who supposedly did all the sign stealing.

Stallions graduated from a suburban Detroit high school in 2013. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a retired captain in the Marine Corps. While at Navy, Stalions volunteered as a member of the coaching staff. After leaving the Corps, Stallions returned to Michigan where he began serving as a volunteer for the Michigan football program. Last year, he was hired as a full-time staff off-field analyst for Michigan football. 

There is evidence that Stalions paid people to go to the games of future Michigan opponents and film their sidelines during the game. The latest report is from a former Division III coach who was given a ticket to a game and a couple hundred dollars to film a team’s sideline. Apparently, Stallions has been doing this since 2021. 

It seems like Stalions is a pretty weird individual too. He wrote a 500-600 page “manifesto” that outlines the future of Michigan football. The last Michigan guy with a manifesto didn’t work out so well. That would be University of Michigan graduate Theodore John Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber.

What Happens to Michigan Football

It’s hard to say. The NCAA is still investigating. Harbaugh has said that he had no knowledge that this whole thing was going on. It’s not clear if any Michigan football coaches knew about what Stalions was doing. Regardless, the NCAA has the authority to levy punishment. 

Michigan football could be forced to vacate some victories, maybe give up a Big Ten title. There could be a reduction in scholarships, but while Michigan haters call for more severe penalties, that’s unlikely to happen. 

What will be interesting is to see how the College Football Playoff handles the situation. The CFP is a separate entity and has no ties to the NCAA. It is its own governing body. The CFP could decide not to include Michigan – if it qualifies – for this seaon’s College Football Playoff. Would they really do that? Hard to say, but it makes for an interesting rest of the season!

Like Free Picks? Ours Win Consistently

Sports Hub Free Picks had another solid day hitting both of its picks yesterday to end up near the top of the leaderboard. Geovanny Araya led all of our cappers yesterday and several other Sports Hub experts were among the leaders. 

Let’s have a look.

• Soccer expert: Our very own soccer expert Geovanny Araya was back at the top of the board yesterday with a 2-1 record on his soccer picks and $240 in winnings. 
• The new guy: Randall Dickelman is relatively new to Sports Hub. He went 4-1 yesterday, hitting two NBA picks and two NHL picks. He pocketed $237 in winnings for the day. He’s off to a strong start here at SportsHub.
• Free picks rule: You really have to try our free picks. Yesterday, Sports Hub Free Picks went 2-0 on two NBA picks and won $200. Over the last 30 days, our free picks are winning at nearly 56 percent. There is one college football free pick in the system right now. Check later to see if there are more.
• Our experts: Ryan Davis and Neal Harris (no relation to Doogie Howser) are both Sports Hub experts. They each went 2-0 yesterday and won $200. Ryan is now up $1061 over the last 30 days. Neal hit a soccer pick and another NBA pick. He is our fourth-ranked NBA capper right now with a winning percentage of 75 percent!

Adolis Garcia Is Becoming Mr. October

If you missed the D-Backs-Rangers game last night, don’t miss another. The game could have easily been won by Arizona, but Texas battled back and took Game 1 of the World Series. We’ll detail more of how that happened below. 

Michigan football is, of course, still trending as is the rest of the college football world. It’s Saturday and we have a full slate of games. We’ve got a database full of college football picks. There will be hundreds by game time today.

Here’s a look at what’s trending in sports today.

1. Rangers’ dingers save the day: Texas trailed Arizona in Game 1 of the World Series last night 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Corey Seager then delivered a two-run homer to tie the game and send it to extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Garcia smacked a shot to right field, homering for the fifth straight game. 
2. Michigan football: No. 8 Oregon faces No. 13 Utah today and still the biggest story of the day is Michigan football. The Wolverines don’t even play today, yet they will be mentioned in every single broadcast today and tonight…for the wrong reasons.
3. 49ers QB: Brock Purdy was in concussion protocol this week. He still hasn’t cleared it, but could before game time tomorrow. San Francisco has lost two straight games and face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
4. Wemby: Rookie Victor Wembenyana got his first NBA double-double as his San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets last night 126-122 in overtime. Wemby had 21 points and 12 rebounds in just his second NBA game.
5. El Clasico: Yes, it’s that time. Barcelona will face Real Madrid in La Liga play today. Real Madrid holds a 77-74 advantage in the La Liga rivalry.

It’s a College Football Saturday

It’s a college football Saturday once again. For Wolverines fans, it’s not a Michigan football Saturday as the team has a bye this week. Michigan football will play again next week when they host Purdue at home. Football isn’t the only thing on the schedule today. There is baseball action, plenty of soccer, basketball, hockey, and more. 

Let’s have a look.

• Week 9: It’s almost hard to believe, but it’s Week 9 of the college football season. We mentioned the Oregon-Utah matchup. There are half a dozen or so picks for that game already. The first CFP rankings will be released after Week 9. They will come out on Tuesday.

• CFL: There is also Canadian football today. It’s the final week of the regular season. Hamilton is in Montreal and Toronto is in Ottawa. Toronto (15-2) has the best record in the CFL this season. The playoffs will start next week.
• Game 2: Arizona and Texas will meet again in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series tonight. Merrill Kelly will start for the D-Backs. Jordan Montgomery gets the start for the Rangers. Texas leads the series 1-0.
• Saturday NBA: Seven games are on the schedule today in the NBA. Miami, fresh off a loss to Boston last night, travels to Minnesota tonight.
• NHL: There are nine hockey games on the schedule today. Vegas lost for the first time last night, falling to Chicago 4-3 in overtime. The Golden Knights have no time to hang their heads. They face the Kings in Los Angeles tonight.
• Soccer: We already mentioned the big one – El Clasico. Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in a La Liga match. The Premier League, Bundesliga, and MLS all have matches today. There are many others on the world soccer schedule today. Check our database to see if guys like Geovanny Araya have soccer picks available.
• Tennis: The top four seeds will play in the semifinals of the Erste Bank Open today. The Swiss Indoors Basel semifinals are also today. In women’s action today, the semifinals of the Abierto Tampico and the final of the WTA Elite Trophy take place today.
• Golf: The Maybank Championship continued today and Round 3 is already complete. Rose Zhang has a one-shot lead heading into Round 4 early tomorrow.

While Michigan football dominates the sports news, don’t forget there are a ton of games today in a variety of sports. That means that Sports Hub handicappers will have tons of picks for all the action today. Check out our picks database and get yourself on the right side of the action today. Good luck and come back tomorrow to get more sports news and see how your handicapper picks turned out.