Penn State’s opponent Saturday, Michigan, is arguably the best football team in the country.
It’s also become the most polarizing.
This is due to what the school is under NCAA investigation for: alleged sign stealing.
News comes in every day regarding this matter, and Monday has been no exception. Many felt Monday would be the day the Big Ten hit coach Jim Harbaugh with a suspension, but that hasn’t happened yet. But the Big Ten did reportedly give Michigan notice that the school has until Wednesday to respond to. No specific potential penalties have been reported yet. There’s another piece of intriguing news. Per the AP, a college football staffer who worked at a Big Ten school said it was his responsibility to steal signs, and multiple conference schools gave him details needed to compile a spreadsheet of play calling signals Michigan used last season.
The ex-staffer said he recently shared documents, and these documents showed Michigan’s signs and plays. Additionally, the documents have screenshots of text exchanges between Michigan and staffers from opposing Big Ten schools.
The AP reported that the man spoke with it on the condition of anonymity due to fear that this could harm his coaching career.
According to the ex-staffer, details from a handful of Big Ten programs made up this spreadsheet, and he wanted to pass these details along to Michigan because, the AP reported, “he hoped it would help Jim Harbaugh’s embattled program and that he believes Harbaugh and his coaches are being unfairly blamed for the actions of a rogue staffer.”
That “rogue staffer,” of course, is Connor Stalions, who is alleged to be at the center of Michigan’s illegal activity.
Stalions resigned this past Friday.
On the field, Michigan football is 9-0 and ranked No. 3. It plays No. 11 Penn State on the road Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for noon on Fox.
