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Jim Harbaugh missed the first three games of Michigan’s ongoing football season due to an NCAA investigation into cheeseburgers he purchased for a couple of recruits, and while the team managed to overcome that setback, the Wolverines could have a much bigger headache on their hands based on new allegations that have the potential to spawn SpyGate 2.0.
Michigan is currently one of the best teams in the country thanks to the incredibly formidable squad Harbaugh has been able to assemble in Ann Arbor, but it seems like there’s a very good chance everything they’ve achieved this year could be tarnished by the accusations that have come to light.
According to Yahoo Sports, the NCAA informed Michigan and the Big 10 that it is conducting a formal review of complaints it’s received from other teams who are convinced the Wolverines gained an edge in games this season by illegally stealing the signs they use to communicate play calls; the potential violation concerns NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which reads “Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.”
While college football teams are permitted to engage in some gamesmanship to a certain extent when it comes to stealing signs, they’re explicitly banned from dispatching employees to other contests in an attempt to break the code of a team they’ll be facing at some point in the future.
The outlet says it spoke with sources at two unnamed schools who claimed they had reason to believe Michigan had stolen their signs based on what transpired during games this season. At this point, it appears the investigation is in its early stages, and it’s likely we’ll have to wait a while for any conclusive evidence to be released.
Only time will tell how this all pans out, but it’s safe to assume the Wolverines could get hit with a pretty hefty punishment if the facts end up supporting the claims at hand.