TCU Knew About Michigan’s Sign-Stealing Before CFP Game: Report
Turns out, the TCU Horned Frogs knew all about how Michigan stole signs before they played the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff semifinal game.
Still, the Horned Frogs beat the Wolverines, 51-45, in the Fiesta Bowl to advance to the national championship game against Georgia.
But, if Michigan had all the signs, then how did TCU win?
Well, TCU did two things, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports.
First, the Horned Frogs did the natural thing and changed their signals before the game.
But, head coach Sonny Dykes took it a step further and did something that one of Dykes’ former mentors — the late Mike Leach — would have approved of.
The TCU staff mixed the old signals with the new signals, which they hoped would have the effect of confusing the Wolverine coaching staff.
But the TCU players knew exactly what was going on, even if Michigan’s coaches didn’t.
“Sometimes we froze a play before the snap,” said one TCU coach. “We’d call a play and then we’d signal in another play with an old signal but we told players to run the original play.”
The Michigan sign-stealing scandal now has serious legs. A former Michigan analyst, Connor Stallions, reportedly purchased tickets to more than 40 college football games in an effort to steal opponent signals for use by Michigan.
The NCAA has now received documentation that shows the system, travel schedules and expenses, including information on trips Stallions and other members of the staff were planning.
And, now NCAA investigators are on campus at Michigan gathering more information.
So why didn’t TCU say anything? Well, the Horned Frogs had a game to prepare for. And, besides, it looks like they used what could have been a serious disadvantage to their advantage.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
