Michigan's football program is currently in hot water for allegedly violating NCAA rules related to sign-stealing. In a comical development, the Wolverines' reported trickery backfired on them back in January in the College Football Playoff matchup against TCU.
In a damning new report from Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, the Horned Frogs already knew what Michigan was up to prior to the game. Head coach Sonny Dykes and the other coaches had intel that the Wolverines were stealing signs, and rather than simply changing all their signals, they pulled a masterful trick out of their sleeves.
TCU not only changed their signs before kickoff, but they also mixed their new play-calls with their old ones. The result was an onslaught of "dummy signals" that in turn duped the Wolverines.
One TCU coach explained, "Sometimes we froze a play before the snap. We'd call a play and then we'd signal in another play with an old signal but we told players to run the original play."
TCU one-upped the cheating Wolverines in CFP matchup
TCU ultimately beat Michigan, 51-45, in the Fiesta Bowl to advance to the championship game against Georgia. That victory was widely considered a gigantic upset by the Horned Frogs at the time; now, fans have a better idea of how TCU pulled that off.
Ever since the start of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, more information has come to light incriminating the Wolverines football program. So far, staffer Connor Stalions is the only Michigan member to have received disciplinary action, as he was suspended a day after the NCAA announced they were investigating Michigan's potential illegal scouting activities.
In a previous report, sources claimed Stalions bought tickets to the game of Michigan's future opponents with the purpose of recording and analyzing those team's signs in person, an act that is prohibited under the league's rules.
The Michigan sign-stealing saga continues.
