The OSU Dirt - Can It Even Be Weopnized

Ain't no real dirt. If we had it, there would be ZERO reason not to release it all right now.

Michigan has only way left it can hurt OSU, and fortunately, it’s the place where you can hurt them most. 

On the field. 

You beat them next week, with an interim coach and without your LBs coach, in the midst of everything that’s happened the last month? OSU will go into free fall, and there is at least a 50/50 chance that Day is fired. His legacy will be losing to an interim coach and a neutered Michigan coaching staff.

His legacy will continue to be that he is soft and runs a soft program. 

Get a grip. It seems like we need to focus on cleaning up our own house.

And what would come of it?

Nothing

3 teams colluded - it got a bit fart from the Big 10.  They could care less. 

Michigan needs to cheat exactly like OSU rather than doing it their "own way" with their "rogues".  Pay players to get on campus- it seems widespread.  If you cheat the same way as 25 other schools do, no one cares. That's the data points given to us.

No.  We seem to be the only ones who act like there should be honor among thieves.  College Football is a cesspool of slimy characters and we expect it to not dent us.  Like Brian said, rubbing is racing.  

I'm sure it exists but when it does come out - see the collusion between OSU/Rutgers and Purdue - the media didn't give a shit and hand-waved it away because reality never mattered.  UM is this season's villain and it'll stick like that until the year ends.  Then next year something new will happen and that'll be the story they all care about.  It's part of the deal.

It sucks but at this point there's no reason to care anymore what happens off the field.  Let MSU and OSU fans have this victory lap off the field and see if UM can keep winning on it.  Because even if UM cheated, so does everyone else.  If UM beats you anyway, that's gotta sting.  MSU still lost 49-0, PSU still got worked over at home, and we'll see what happens next week against OSU.  

Just beat them on the field so they can cry again.  The rest of this is just reality TV drama crap. 

I doubt anything will be released, at least not in the immediate aftermath of this.

One thing I was thinking about earlier -- Santa Ono and Warde Manuel went public with their support of Harbaugh and the program, only to have this latest revelation come out.  I would imagine they are not happy about that.  They extended trust there was no fire, and yesterday they got burned.  I'm going to guess they're not in much of a mood for anything today.

What a mess.  Right now if I were the (remaining) coaches, my message to the players is this: "This is a giant f*ck-up by others, but not you.  Show the world what you are made of."

I believe you (or at least believe you are not lying). This all needs to be unloaded Monday. Week of the game. Michigan's public perception has never been at a bigger all time low. The position needs to be: we agreed to a punishment like this for our mistakes, here are OSU's mistakes, time for them to face a proportionate punishment as well. If we don't do that, then what the heck are we doing? Do we as fans care more than whoever could unload these binders? I don't want to believe that, but I am struggling.

If someone could (at least) fix the title, this deserves consideration. I'm to the point where I'm equating the snowflakes with hastily contrived and written posts. Not for no reason. 

I think that the answer is that you work on as many fronts as possible, get the info under as many noses as possible. This is now a long-term war, one in which M has lost several early battles. We need, over time, to change perceptions, and force recognition that others have done as much and worse.

what does this have to do with Partridge obstructing an NCAA investigation?  Great, M fired him when they found out.  But the NCAA could still hit Harbaugh with an LOIC charge, guaranteeing he leaves after this season/post-season. 

i'm not going to downvote someone just because I disagree, but this whole "but they broke the rules too" line of thinking is useless right now, imo.   if M wants to eat their eventual punishment like an adult, and then demand fair treatment from the NCAA by turning over what they have, fine.  But other people's conduct isn't a defense for M's own.

Isn't it funny that in the age that paying players money is allowed, we get in trouble for shit like this?  

The only way a binder of dirt does any harm to OSU is if it comes from another (preferably bigger) program. Anything Michigan were to release now just smells like whataboutism.

This post hurts my heart for you. 

The problem is / in a PR battle / you need to strike first - - -

Paint a narrative / echo chamber it 

Then, Drip Drip Drip. 

Next, rally others into the mob mentality. 

Then, Drip Drip Drip some more.

Then, wammy with the biggest piece of dirt you have - 

Keep the target guessing and defending... 

Michigan "had" info / but the lost the PR war before it was begun. 

Michigan should have released the info last year right after we beat osu. 

THAT would have been smart.  And DEVASTATING to their program/fanbase. 

Could you imagine the misery index after losing to UM in the shoe / on those Edwards runs, then wake up on Sunday morning to learn //// osu HAD our signals and still lost and they are cheaters? 

Michigan needs a PR firm to continually paint the other schools in a bad light / while deflecting negativity incoming toward Michigan.  It's basic propaganda warfare.  Let's play.  

Go Blue. 

"Downvote me to hell" he says, and so I oblige.

Oh hello Isaiah Hole 

The only way to beat them, and by “them” I mean OSU and their accomplices in the media, is to beat them again on the field, win the b1g again, and win the whole thing this year. And after that, extend Harbaugh as the highest paid coach in the b1g while making the coaching staff also the highest paid in the b1g. 
 

Heck, OSU might even be stupid enough at that point to continue to back Day, believing that his third loss was truly because of some competitive disadvantage. I hope they do. That would very nearly be the biggest self-own they could do, especially when Day goes into next season screaming about how “tough” OSU is to any reporter, fan, tree or shrub he can find. Imagine his mental breakdown after ND and multiply it by a hundred. 
 

That is the way to get back at them. 

Is this so-called dirt provable facts or conjecture? If it was the former it would already have been released. After trying to go scorched earth and then having to u-turn my guess is the folks at Schembechler Hall are not eager to start more mud slinging. The best option right now is to focus on one game at a time and hope for an end to the drama.

Just win Nov 25th. 

I understand the frustration at the double standard.  But even if the dirt is legit, it won’t happen for a couple reasons.  

First, we won’t do it.  We’re Michigan, and the administration would regard such a thing as tawdry and beneath us.  

Second, even if we did do it, for it to have legs we’d have to get the rest of the conference behind us like Ohio State did.  Without that it would meet the same fate as Wakeyleaks etc.  What made this different is they got to a gullible rookie commissioner who self-righteously fanned the flames and orchestrated the conference-wide mobbing.  We are unwilling/incapable of undertaking that sort of campaign.  

You're putting the blame in the wrong place. There's dirt on all successful programs. The difference is that Michigan will punish Michigan. Tennessee won't punish Tennessee. Kansas won't punish Kansas. And Ohio State won't punish Ohio State. Michigan could've easily fought every piece of this and deny deny deny until it all disappeared. But for better or worse, Michigan will always help the NCAA hold Michigan's own feet to the fire whenever possible. 

Absolute best we can hope for:

• Win next Saturday.
• Confirmation that Ryan Day hired PI.

Hold the information till after this season. About next July or August bring it up..  Send the info to Brett McMurphy and let him dig up the rest..  Hopefully he follows through with the Osu, Rutgers, Purdue story on Collusion and how bad the big ten is ignoring it..  Make that a big deal next year.. 

Who gives a fuck. Just beat the team in front of you every Saturday, and make all these pricks hate you even more.

Honestly, I feel too let down by the self-styled insiders who were telling us that more “dirt” on others was coming down the pipeline. Even if I want to believe it, I don’t think that the dirt is there, and I don’t think anyone would care if there were. At least not now.

Stalions made a wrong choice, got caught and in so doing, fucked the program. The punishment is coming and the narrative around all of this isn’t going to change. Just win on the field. That’s it.

Getting anyone in trouble with the ncaa shouldn’t even be the goal anymore. (As was pointed out if UM has turned in illegal activity by OSU to the ncaa and they ignored it there would be a paper trail and that alone would be enough to show the ncaa is using selective enforment). 
 

UM needs to hire PI’s and PR firm and dig up dirt on everyone that’s wronged them here. Pete Thanel, Pete Finebaum, Ryan Day, Tony P, employees at bucknuts, ncaa committee members ect ect .  I don’t care about ncaa sanctions. You find out Ryan Day has a mistress, Some racist comment Finnbaum made 20 years ago I don’t really care. The goal now is to embarrass people and go after there lively hoods. Isn’t that what this was really about from all involved? No one gives a crap about sign stealing this was about embarrassing the university and going after the lively hood of Jim Harbaugh and his staff. 
 

The other step is for the University to go all in on player employment. This what they wanted to stop you have to give them the opposite reaction.  This University’s reputation has been tarnished on all fronts, that’s just the way it works.  You want to be the leaders and best? You want to high brow the rest as morally superior this is how you get that back. Full support, unionized and ready to litigate. Michigans players are employees of the University and will be paid and given benefits as such. We will see you in court

I fully identify with the spirit of this post.

At this point, however, to protect my own mental health and emotional state I'm going to move all such claims from the bin labeled "Ideas that Never Occurred to Me" to "Stuff Said that May or May Not Be True."  This file has two subfolders: "Unverified Empirical Claims", of which this goes in absent more information, and "Reasoning to a Claim Because the Speaker Can't Think of Another Explanation."  This is not to cast any dispersions on your character.  There has been a ton of bullshit in the last month, and I'm done picking my way through it.  I'm just neutral on everything that is not close to an undisputable fact.

I'm perfectly fine with it being posted.

My Mom used to say “if Bobby Schermer jumped in front of a car, would you?”.  We don’t have to engage in this bs even if we have something.  Let it die and crush them all on the field.

Fuck the B1G, Fuck the NCAA.

F*ck Bad Boy as a staff, record label, and as a motherf*ckin' crew!

Maybe good timing to release any dirt they have is leading up to National Signing Day?

Nobody cares about paying players.  Hell - OSU's AD (Gene Smith) just this last summer told fucking CONGRESS that it costs ~$5K just to get a player on campus.  You think leaking that out is going to move the needle?  LOL!!

Nobody cares how much they paid 7 years ago for a RB.  FBI wiretaps and explicit, first hand evidence of bags'o'cash from UTenn coaches don't even get a wrist slap from the NCAA anymore.  Whatever binder of dirt Michigan might have is as useful as the "binder of women" Mitt Romney kept for those ready for high political office was to his Presidential bid - it will only bring derision.

Give up on the Michigan counterattack, it's not happening.  The bluff ended as poorly for Michigan as it ever could have.  In the end, Michigan did what Michigan does - roll over and play dead.

Unfortunately, every Michigan “insider” this side of JUB himself has had their credibility absolutely shattered by all this stuff.

The only path forward is for the University to do it openly and I doubt there’s stomach for that.

At this point it would be more fun to hire a PI firm to dig up dirt on people's personal lives.  No extortion, no blackmail.  Just send photos to spouses the day before football games.

I like this picture better.

Meh... even assuming you're right, and I don't have any specific reason to disbelieve you or your buddy, but I honestly don't think anyone gives a shit.  The mob got its pound of flesh off of Michigan, they're satisfied.  

Naaaah we are past that. The damage has been done. HOWEVER from this day forward I hope Michigan keeps receipts and tells on every single one of the B1G teams. No more look the other way or coach talk.  If we have become the Titanic, I want every single one of the B1G teams, especially osu to be the guys who play the cello. 

Protip:  If you want to be taken seriously, don't call your insider "my buddy".