Michigan won its 5th national title 26 years after its last, which came under Lloyd Carr in 1997. However, instead of pure celebration, the win was overshadowed by controversy. The college football community remained miffed — many felt the Wolverines hadn’t gotten there fairly. Connor Stalions, a key figure in the scandal, insisted sign-stealing is something nearly all programs do, but what set him apart was his ability to organize information and process signals on game day. “What set me apart was the way that I organized that information and processed it on game day,” Stalions said in his documentary, adding that deciphering signals meant quickly spotting the real ones from fake signals and turning them into actionable strategies.

For context, it’s legal in college and the NFL to observe signals during your own game against an opponent, and many programs employ “signal analysts” to help interpret what plays might be called. But the controversy here crossed a clear ethical boundary. According to reports from ESPN and The Athletic, Stalions had purchased seats at more than 30 future opponents’ games and distributed those seats to people who secretly video-recorded signals from the stands. That systematic effort, prohibited by NCAA Rule 11.6.1, which bans in-person advance scouting, provided an unfair advantage, allowing the Wolverines to match signals to plays well before a game was played.

And yet, Jim Harbaugh, to this date, maintains the argument of Michigan being innocent when it comes to off-field issues. However, an interesting statistic shared by one Ohio State fan says otherwise.

The graphic alleges that before Stalions landed his job at Michigan, Harbaugh had a 49-26 record. After the scorned staffer took on his analyst job in 2021, the former HC’s record cleaned up suspiciously, finishing with 40-3. A 73% success rate shot up to a whopping 96%. The fact that this rise happened in just 3 years is also something that makes these numbers stand out.

When Michigan won the Big 10 championship in 2022, Harbaugh awarded the game ball to Connor Stalions. Even then, he was a nobody and continued to operate under his inconspicuous role as a defensive analyst. However, Stalions knew sign-stealing like the back of his hand, and thrived because of it. Michigan fans are now bearing the brunt of the scandal. The online community faced off against each other, as Michigan fans did their best to defend the program’s reputation.

Fans are at odds about Connor Stalions’ impact on Michigan football

“Imagine waiting over 70 years for a national championship only for the world to not recognize it,” wrote one disappointed fan. The entire football community cracked down on Michigan when it won the National title, by which time the scandal broke out on a massive scale. AD Warde Manuel claimed in 2025 that because the NCAA thinks they won it “fair and square,” Michigan really did win it so. However, not many were interested in his argument. “You probably been cheating for all those years, too. You guys are pretty pathetic,” argued another.

One fan tried to do the batting for Jim Harbaugh. “8-0 after Stalions was fired, including wins over OSU, Bama in the semi, and the Championship. Also, quite a bit of overlap here with the arrival of JJ MCCARTHY. Every team steals signs (and it’s not even illegal),” they wrote. Stalions echo this statement whenever the opportunity comes up. In the documentary, he alleges that 80-90% of teams are involved in the practice. According to the NCAA, sign stealing becomes illegal when plays of future opponents are filmed. Stalions’ scale of activities came to light when investigations revealed tickets to future Michigan opponents. There’s no two ways about this, since it’s a textbook violation.

“[They] never play by the book, they always in a scandal or always caught doing something they ain’t got no business doing, so the college football world does not respect them,” wrote one very angry enthusiast. It’s been known to the world for a long time now that this is not the first time the Wolverines have engaged in controversy. In 2024, the NCAA brought down the gavel once again for the program, allowing non-staffers to be involved in recruiting during the ‘dead’ period of COVID-19. Former OC Matt Weiss had the FBI investigating him for ‘computer access crimes.’

“Interesting correlation, is it not? There is no doubt that Mr. Stalions was a wee bit more than a low-level staffer,” wrote one particular fan. The former analyst worked as a volunteer for Michigan for quite a few years before 2021. At one point, Stalions had hoped that one day in the future, he would get to don the hat of Michigan’s HC. We also now know that part of the reason why Bryce Underwood flipped from LSU was because Stalions paid him a visit to Bellville High. Michigan continues to distance itself from Connor Stalions. Unfortunately, he’s now an entity so popular that it’s difficult to escape his shadow.