NCAA joins CMU's own investigation of sideline sighting of CS
Even more reason that the Big Ten should just leave this to the NCAA.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:17 PM ^
OK.
If CMU would hire Stalions in 2023, then maybe 2022 too? The same staff would have known his work. CMU played 5 different games on days where U-M didn't play (and didn't play on the day before or after either).
None of those 5 games (OK State, BGSU, NIU, Buffalo, WMU) had CMU playing an opponent that was a future U-M opponent.
If one could find Stalions on the sideline for any of those CMU games --- I'd argue it would significantly strengthen Seth's theory. I don't think it's unfair to say what makes Stalions' (alleged) 2023 CMU apperance more suspicious (suspicious as regards U-M) is that it involved a opponent that was on U-M's future schedule.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:23 PM ^
Well, the hypothesis would be that Stalions already had MSU's signs, on the assumption they were the same as last year.
I'm not trying to defend the guy -- I'm just pointing out what everyone else is, that the sideline is the worst possible place to try to videotape anything. He'd have been much better off in row 10 if that's why he was there.
November 6th, 2023 at 4:59 PM ^
https://cmuchippewas.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jake-kostner/905
This guy was a UM student assistant until he graduated in spring 2018. CS started his volunteer stuff in 2015.
Kostner was at CMU for one year in fall 2018, left, and came back in 2023. He was not at CMU in 2021 or 2022.
https://cmuchippewas.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/michael-mcgee/909
To my eye, this was the guy who CS was standing next to in the pictures that were circulating (could be wrong). He played at Adrian (in SE Michigan) and was a GA at Siena Heights (in Adrian, MI). This is his first year at CMU.
There are a myriad of reasons CS could have been only at this game. Or maybe he was at other games.
This is not a crazy theory.
The alternative, I feel like you are suggesting, is that someone at Michigan had CS part from his usual M.O. and go in person to MSU (!) to record with his sunglasses in a disguise that may or may not fool MSU's facial recognition technology instead of just buy a ticket for $50 on stubhub and send some non-Michigan person to film with an iPhone like he did the 50 other games.
And if anyone from Michigan did think that was a good idea, their name was probably Connor Stalions.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:00 PM ^
- Either part of his Vast Network was on staff, McElwain remembered him from his short stint at Michigan, or they heard through the analysts' grapevine
- Ditto. I think it's quite likely that Connor had at least one associate on the CMU staff.
On WTKA, Sam Webb has been saying he's putting a file together on all of the sign stealers around the Big Ten. I think the last I heard, he'd gotten about half, maybe. If a journalist / radio host can find them, surely other coaches can.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:25 PM ^
If you’re a certain age and in a field that has fewer people than most (college or professional sports, for example), you find your people and you definitely compare notes. It’s just networking, and in this case, probably reciprocally helpful networking. I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. It could’ve been beneficial to both CMU and CS.
November 6th, 2023 at 4:25 PM ^
All that it means is that McElwain would need to know the guy was good at deciphering opposing teams signs, which is not illegal. It doesn't seem far-fetched that CMU would consider asking him to be on the sideline to assist. I assume he would need to be invited as a guest because of staff limitations.
November 6th, 2023 at 2:18 PM ^
Who cares!
November 6th, 2023 at 2:24 PM ^
so the NCAA is investigating " unknowns" while the big ten claims they have hard evidence..
November 6th, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
Seems like Rittenburg wrote an entire article based on a nothing update from CMU
Athletic director Amy Folan, in a statement to ESPN, confirmed that Central Michigan "continues its review of the matter in cooperation with the NCAA."
Alternate headline: "Things same as yesterday"
November 6th, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
The solution everybody can live with...
CMU gets the death penalty.
November 6th, 2023 at 2:40 PM ^
How do they not know the answer to this by now? Doesn't seem like it would take this long to track down everyone who was non the sideline that day and ask them
November 6th, 2023 at 3:23 PM ^
The thing is A -They don’t know who it is, they asked everyone on the team and no one knows him. B - Someone invited him and not talking. it’s not like a ticket where you can see who sat where, etc. C - They know who it is (assuming) but they don’t know how he got there or can’t say with 100% certainty that it is him.
They have the same images and clips as the rest of us so they either can’t verify it or someone is not talking. Simple as that and the story keeps getting better and better.
This is very funny for sure lmao😂😂😂 gonna continue to enjoy the show.
November 6th, 2023 at 2:43 PM ^
Steps:
List all passes given. For each quarter of the game (can't reasonably do so for every single second?), cross off everyone where video evidence shows they were there. Use both game footage and any security camera footage available.
I'm wondering how long that takes get to a short list of who that person might be, or identify someone who was there for only part of the game, but not when this person is (i. e. switched garb & pass somewhere in the stadium).
It surely seems like CMU is embarrassed at not knowing who it is, so perhaps (in my mind, anyway) the slow progress is because they are trying to cover their behinds in that regard, no matter the eventual outcome?
November 6th, 2023 at 2:48 PM ^
NCAA - "Who wants to destroy Michigan!!!!"
Just for Men but mostly used by women - "I DO I DO!!! It's my fuckin plan after all!!"
Little Nicky Satan "I DO I DO I DO, I thought I got ridda that fucker years ago but he won't leave!"
Little sister "I DO I DO I DO I DO!!. Everyone was mean to us after we tried to collapse a couple Michigan players skulls last year, which you know, would have killed them, like dead forever, because they beat us in football."
NCAA - "well thats enough for us - game on"
November 6th, 2023 at 2:55 PM ^
Yes, it was Stalions.
No, he was not there on behalf of Michigan. It is very hard to see the other sideline (to scout signs) when you are standing on the opposite sideline with dozens of very large humans between the two.
If he wanted to scout for Michigan he would just buy a seat in the stands 20 rows up. This was CMU - MSU, not Michigan - Ohio State. It's not that hard to get a ticket.
He was on the CMU sidelines because somebody from CMU wanted him on the sidelines.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:34 PM ^
Yeah, that's the most important point. There's no reason for him to go to a bunch of extra effort (sideline pass, CMU gear, disguise) to get data far inferior to what he could get just by taping from the stands, with WAY less risk to boot.
Also, it does seem a little strange that someone that would go to so much effort to disguise himself for this game would have bought all the tickets under his own name. Maybe that's the most frustrating part; had he just bought prepaid VISA gift cards and used those to buy the tickets, there's no way any of it would have been found out unless one of his connections ratted on him...
November 6th, 2023 at 2:59 PM ^
This is so dumb. At this point who cares who it was.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:33 PM ^
You could apply this so many ways to SignGate, but I’ll just drop it here.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:35 PM ^
Apparently he was wearing the new James Bond Spy sunglasses to record the other sideline. That explains why he didn’t want to be in the stands and why he was wearing sunglasses at night. 😂😂😂😂
November 6th, 2023 at 3:43 PM ^
Is CMU tryin got get more publicity? How can they not know , either way?
November 6th, 2023 at 3:49 PM ^
CMU hired Stalions as a consultant for the game. Suspensions will be coming there way.
November 6th, 2023 at 3:59 PM ^
It looks like McElwain and Stalions overlapped in their time at Michigan. Is it plausible that Mac said to a low-level staffer: "I remember this guy at Michigan who's a wiz at breaking sign code. See if you can get him here Friday night to help us out. But if this backfires, we didn't talk."
November 6th, 2023 at 4:00 PM ^
How is that even illegal? There is no scouting going on, just the usual in-game "sign decoding".
November 6th, 2023 at 3:59 PM ^
There are many stories of people getting drunk and "lost" in the woods, and then joining a search party to find themselves. I hope that there is some poor CMU grad assistant who has no idea that he looks like that, not knowing to speak up it's him.
November 6th, 2023 at 4:19 PM ^
I'm still going with the con man theory that Stalions infiltrated the sideline without anyone knowing.
November 6th, 2023 at 4:30 PM ^
The hyperbole of this is so outrageous. Call it what it was, impermissible in person scouting and treat it like the Level 2 or 3 violation that it is. Stalions resigned, so end of story! It doesn't matter if he deciphered another teams signs because that is acceptable per NCAA rules. Everyone needs to quit trying to create a crime for a lesser offense.
Let me repeat, the violation is in person scouting. Nothing else.
It's like trying to turn jay walking into a felony.
November 6th, 2023 at 6:06 PM ^
CMU knew and now they need to get their story straight to why he was on the sideline. Was he there for Michigan and they had no clue or was he there because CMU asked him to help steal MSU’s signs during the game and keep low profile.