There aren’t many who can rival Dave Portnoy in his love for Michigan. Come rain or shine, that man is always up to defend his team. However, the Buckeye army is always on the hunt to bring the Michigan man down. One former OSU star got back at Portnoy and also took a dig at UM.

Portnoy had his fair share of comments on Michigan State getting served with NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. He also saw an opportunity here to promote Michigan and downplay Ohio State at the same time. It was a lofty claim, but it was pretty easy to respond to if one read between the lines.

“If you actually look in the Big Ten, what schools have had wins vacated? Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State. How many vacated wins does Michigan have? Zero,” he said in a November 15 episode of his show.

The Ohio State community has receipts. Former Buckeyes star Braxton Miller, who played as a quarterback for the program from 2011-13, threw shade at Portnoy for his lofty claim, presenting an all-time win-loss record of Division 1 schools.

“You’re not even in 2nd place.. (vacated wins for cheating probably still even in there 🤣⏳⏳),” he wrote on X.

The top three programs are as follows: Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan. OSU’s is 981-335-53, while Michigan stands at 1,015-359-36. A 0.6 difference separates the two warring sides.

Dave Portnoy and Michigan fans have breezed through the repercussions of the sign-stealing scandal. Save for them, there were vehement calls for the NCAA to strip Michigan of its 2023 National Title and also force the program to vacate wins. Instead, they imposed financial penalties, issued show-cause orders to coaches, and banned Sherrone Moore from a few games.

Almost every prominent voice in college football has long declared the scandal as outright cheating. Connor Stalions was caught on tape attending certain games, and additional evidence of his associates being present at others is also available. Had the issue been treated as such, Michigan might have been among the programs that received the most severe punishments from the NCAA.

Michigan State, on the other hand, has to vacate all 14 wins from 2022-2024. Just because three players were found to be ineligible. Former HC Mel Tucker has also been served a show-cause notice, though he wasn’t directly involved with the scandal. The difference between the two situations cannot be ignored. And OSU itself had to vacate the wins from the 2010 season, along with the 2011 Sugar Bowl win, for the 2011 sanctions on the program.

With UM having escaped a threat that big looming over, it’s understandable why Dave Portnoy gets to brag about the situation.

Dave Portnoy was least bothered about Michigan’s punishment

“A postseason ban is required in this case. Michigan’s case is Level I-Aggravated,” the NCAA’s official statement on the judgment for Michigan read. However, it “converted” the ban to financial penalties so that current student-athletes don’t go through unnecessary troubles. It is estimated that the total will be at least $20 million. Dave Portnoy was hardly bothered by that amount.

“They just fined Michigan $20 million, like we give a f–k about $20 million,” he shared in a video on X. “Twenty million, that’s ashtray money, bro,” Portnoy added, while smoking a cigar. “That’s like what, one quarter of Bryce Underwood? We don’t care about $20 million. Connor Stalions, a U.S. Marine, by the way, he can’t coach for eight years, for what, being great at decoding signals and serving his country? I don’t care; it doesn’t matter. Ohio State? Cry. Little brother, cry. All you other schools, cry.”

The 2011 sanctions on Ohio State have left fans with a collective scar, all because a few players were found guilty of accepting unauthorized gifts. That mistake sure is a lot milder than stealing signs from opponent games. But to Dave Portnoy, none of Michigan’s faults matter, unless the Wolverines lose to Ohio State.