There is no asterisk next to Michigan for this national title and I’ll tell you why. Cheeseburgers, refusal to cooperate in an NCAA investigation or advanced scouting and signal stealing, none of it matters. Why? So many top programs had a chance to shut up and shut down this Michigan team and they failed.
Recruiting advantages led to this national title? In the world of NIL, I don’t care about cheeseburgers or COVID scouring. And I honestly don’t care who cooperates with the corrupt NCAA when it comes to ridiculous investigations like that while the college football playoff committee is bought by television and the SEC and transfer portal tampering and illegal NIL payments are obvious and in plain sight.
Advanced scouting and signal stealing is bad right? I thought so too but when everyone changed up their signals and it was brought to everyone’s attention, no one could handle Michigan anyhow.
Did they need stolen signals to beat a top 15 program in Penn State after the Connor Stalions scandal came to light? Did stolen signals lead to a third straight win against top five program Ohio State? Was it the reason they beat top five Alabama or dominated top five Washington? Nope. It didn’t mean squat.
Jim Harbaugh and this team shut it all out and went out and handled their business against four of the top programs in the country. And you could argue that two of those programs — Ohio State and Alabama — have more of a reputation for enhanced recruiting advantages than any others in the country. And yet here we are.
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Michigan beat everyone fair and square this season and do so without their head coach for nearly half of it. This team had a single-minded focus unlike any other this season and weren’t to be denied.
I overreacted to the NCAA investigations and the whole Big Ten signal stealing drama. I believed coaches clutching their pearls at the thought of Harbaugh cheating. But guess what? Many teams had a chance to sit their ass down this year and keep the focus on those issues but each of them failed. They had a chance to keep us all invested in the drama but now we just have to admit that this team was amazing, unstoppable and willed their way to winning despite all the distractions — self induced or not.
So for me you can keep your asterisk talk as no one could shut up Michigan on the field.
Bet.
