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Michigan analyst Connor Stalions has resigned, the university announced Friday. Stalions is at the center of the NCAA investigation into the Wolverines' alleged sign-stealing efforts. Michigan previously suspended him Oct. 20.

Michigan's Week 10 opponent, Purdue, expressed concern over the sign-stealing scandal ahead of Saturday's matchup. Asked about the ongoing NCAA investigation during his weekly radio show Thursday night, Purdue coach Ryan Walters didn't hold back.

"It's unfortunate. What's crazy is they aren't allegations. It happened," he said. "There's video evidence. There's ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games."

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has denied knowledge of any attempt to steal opponent signs and will cooperate with the NCAA investigation, he said in a statement. Harbaugh is already embroiled in a battle with the NCAA over separate Level II violations for which he is accused of misleading investigators.

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Yeah sure Jimbo.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-analyst-connor-stalions-resigns-amid-ncaa-investigation-into-sign-stealing/

Wow, that story reminds me of this story: https://bearinsider.com/forums/2/topics/117426

I still love the fact that we beat his ass in his house in 2009. That was one of the best ever. Thank you Shane Vereen and Mike Mohammed.

There was an article in the Athletic where they interviewed a sign-stealer, anonymously. He said it's HUGE now, everybody does it and it wins and loses games for teams on a regular basis. The counter-move, of course, is to be changing up your signs all the time, but not so much that you confuse yourself. The best sign-stealers are the ones that are so low key about it that the opponent doesn't change up because they don't think their signs are being stolen.

Every time that it looks like we're getting out-schemed now, I'm going to be thinking that Wilcox is too much of an OKG to cheat* as well as the other teams. I mean, how many times has it looked like opposing defenses have just had our plays totally snuffed out? Or maybe our defense is giving up chunk plays because our coaches haven't realized that our opponent has changed their signs?


* just stealing the signs isn't cheating; it's when you video them from other games, etc.

Makes you wonder what the real value of tightwad hill is with the advances in photo and video technology.

Wink wink…..

Cal88 said:

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Quote:

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Michigan analyst Connor Stalions has resigned, the university announced Friday. Stalions is at the center of the NCAA investigation into the Wolverines' alleged sign-stealing efforts. Michigan previously suspended him Oct. 20.

Michigan's Week 10 opponent, Purdue, expressed concern over the sign-stealing scandal ahead of Saturday's matchup. Asked about the ongoing NCAA investigation during his weekly radio show Thursday night, Purdue coach Ryan Walters didn't hold back.

"It's unfortunate. What's crazy is they aren't allegations. It happened," he said. "There's video evidence. There's ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games."

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has denied knowledge of any attempt to steal opponent signs and will cooperate with the NCAA investigation, he said in a statement. Harbaugh is already embroiled in a battle with the NCAA over separate Level II violations for which he is accused of misleading investigators.

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Yeah sure Jimbo.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-analyst-connor-stalions-resigns-amid-ncaa-investigation-into-sign-stealing/

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The NCAA takes forever to investigate these things. He knows this. The B1G has to intercede here. They have some authority here and need to use it. By the time the NCAA gets around to doing anything Harbaugh will be coaching the Raiders and Michigan will likely face no penalties.

The lack of governance from the NCAA and how slowly they operate is a big reason why football is likely to seperate and create their own super alliance with its own rules and regulations and have some real teeth when it comes to enforcement and discipline.

It is very noteworthy to me that B1G member schools and coaches are as involved in this as they are. Meanwhile Cal is still waiting for a waiver approval for a basketball player that has as open and shut case as possible.

CALiforniALUM said:

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Makes you wonder what the real value of tightwad hill is with the advances in photo and video technology.

Wink wink…..

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The real value of cheapskate mountain is watching the game for free while drinking your preferred brew and looking over the bay!

Or every time one of our screens gets blown up. Or are we just bad at screens?

pic.twitter.com/L1iYl9BK9B

— Colin Jankowski (@ColinJankowski) November 4, 2023

6956bear said:

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Cal88 said:

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The NCAA takes forever to investigate these things. He knows this. The B1G has to intercede here. They have some authority here and need to use it. By the time the NCAA gets around to doing anything Harbaugh will be coaching the Raiders and Michigan will likely face no penalties.

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I wouldn't want to be the Big Ten commissioner here.

Michigan is going to claim that the sign-stealing scheme came to light only because Ohio State hired hackers with connections to Ohio State's head coach, and that the hackers gained access to Michigan's computer network. They will then demand that any punishment given to Michigan be matched with equal punishment to Ohio State. Whichever way it goes, the commish will have made enemies at one or both of the two most powerful members of the Big Ten.

Politics is messy and sleazy. College football is even more messy and sleazy.

BearSD said:

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6956bear said:

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The NCAA takes forever to investigate these things. He knows this. The B1G has to intercede here. They have some authority here and need to use it. By the time the NCAA gets around to doing anything Harbaugh will be coaching the Raiders and Michigan will likely face no penalties.

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I wouldn't want to be the Big Ten commissioner here.

Michigan is going to claim that the sign-stealing scheme came to light only because Ohio State hired hackers with connections to Ohio State's head coach, and that the hackers gained access to Michigan's computer network. They will then demand that any punishment given to Michigan be matched with equal punishment to Ohio State. Whichever way it goes, the commish will have made enemies at one or both of the two most powerful members of the Big Ten.

Politics is messy and sleazy. College football is even more messy and sleazy.

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If Day used family connections that hacked into Michigan's computers that is certainly worthy of looking at. But Michigan has violated the rule over 30 times. Regardless of how the sign stealing was discovered.

I believe Michigan should have to vacate wins. If Day is complicit with the hacking he would be facing a potential suspension I believe.

What is interesting to me is the other coaches and schools working the Commissioner hard to take action. This sort of cooperation is very rare. Tells me the coaches and schools have a universal dislike of how Harbaugh/Michigan handle their business.

If you want to sit in the big chair you have to make tough decisions. So IMO if the Commissioner refuses to take action I would hope the B1G Presidents work to have him removed. Enough of the big programs getting away with everything. Take action Tony. Against both if need be.

bluehenbear said:

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Or every time one of our screens gets blown up. Or are we just bad at screens?

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Or when Musgrave would run Ott up the middle into a stacked box every first down for no gain…. Was it because they stole our signals or just were paying attention to every previous first down?

6956bear said:

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BearSD said:

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6956bear said:

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The NCAA takes forever to investigate these things. He knows this. The B1G has to intercede here. They have some authority here and need to use it. By the time the NCAA gets around to doing anything Harbaugh will be coaching the Raiders and Michigan will likely face no penalties.

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I wouldn't want to be the Big Ten commissioner here.

Michigan is going to claim that the sign-stealing scheme came to light only because Ohio State hired hackers with connections to Ohio State's head coach, and that the hackers gained access to Michigan's computer network. They will then demand that any punishment given to Michigan be matched with equal punishment to Ohio State. Whichever way it goes, the commish will have made enemies at one or both of the two most powerful members of the Big Ten.

Politics is messy and sleazy. College football is even more messy and sleazy.

---

If Day used family connections that hacked into Michigan's computers that is certainly worthy of looking at. But Michigan has violated the rule over 30 times. Regardless of how the sign stealing was discovered.

I believe Michigan should have to vacate wins. If Day is complicit with the hacking he would be facing a potential suspension I believe.

What is interesting to me is the other coaches and schools working the Commissioner hard to take action. This sort of cooperation is very rare. Tells me the coaches and schools have a universal dislike of how Harbaugh/Michigan handle their business.

If you want to sit in the big chair you have to make tough decisions. So IMO if the Commissioner refuses to take action I would hope the B1G Presidents work to have him removed. Enough of the big programs getting away with everything. Take action Tony. Against both if need be.

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In theory, sure. But in practice, the guys who sit in that Big Chair for the longest time get their longevity because they avoid pissing off their power players.

The Big Ten commish is hoping that the NCAA makes this decision for him.

BearSD said:

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6956bear said:

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BearSD said:

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6956bear said:

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The NCAA takes forever to investigate these things. He knows this. The B1G has to intercede here. They have some authority here and need to use it. By the time the NCAA gets around to doing anything Harbaugh will be coaching the Raiders and Michigan will likely face no penalties.

---

I wouldn't want to be the Big Ten commissioner here.

Michigan is going to claim that the sign-stealing scheme came to light only because Ohio State hired hackers with connections to Ohio State's head coach, and that the hackers gained access to Michigan's computer network. They will then demand that any punishment given to Michigan be matched with equal punishment to Ohio State. Whichever way it goes, the commish will have made enemies at one or both of the two most powerful members of the Big Ten.

Politics is messy and sleazy. College football is even more messy and sleazy.

---

If Day used family connections that hacked into Michigan's computers that is certainly worthy of looking at. But Michigan has violated the rule over 30 times. Regardless of how the sign stealing was discovered.

I believe Michigan should have to vacate wins. If Day is complicit with the hacking he would be facing a potential suspension I believe.

What is interesting to me is the other coaches and schools working the Commissioner hard to take action. This sort of cooperation is very rare. Tells me the coaches and schools have a universal dislike of how Harbaugh/Michigan handle their business.

If you want to sit in the big chair you have to make tough decisions. So IMO if the Commissioner refuses to take action I would hope the B1G Presidents work to have him removed. Enough of the big programs getting away with everything. Take action Tony. Against both if need be.

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In theory, sure. But in practice, the guys who sit in that Big Chair for the longest time get their longevity because they avoid pissing off their power players.

The Big Ten commish is hoping that the NCAA makes this decision for him.

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Nothing of significance will happen

BearSD said:

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6956bear said:

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BearSD said:

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6956bear said:

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The NCAA takes forever to investigate these things. He knows this. The B1G has to intercede here. They have some authority here and need to use it. By the time the NCAA gets around to doing anything Harbaugh will be coaching the Raiders and Michigan will likely face no penalties.

---

I wouldn't want to be the Big Ten commissioner here.

Michigan is going to claim that the sign-stealing scheme came to light only because Ohio State hired hackers with connections to Ohio State's head coach, and that the hackers gained access to Michigan's computer network. They will then demand that any punishment given to Michigan be matched with equal punishment to Ohio State. Whichever way it goes, the commish will have made enemies at one or both of the two most powerful members of the Big Ten.

Politics is messy and sleazy. College football is even more messy and sleazy.

---

If Day used family connections that hacked into Michigan's computers that is certainly worthy of looking at. But Michigan has violated the rule over 30 times. Regardless of how the sign stealing was discovered.

I believe Michigan should have to vacate wins. If Day is complicit with the hacking he would be facing a potential suspension I believe.

What is interesting to me is the other coaches and schools working the Commissioner hard to take action. This sort of cooperation is very rare. Tells me the coaches and schools have a universal dislike of how Harbaugh/Michigan handle their business.

If you want to sit in the big chair you have to make tough decisions. So IMO if the Commissioner refuses to take action I would hope the B1G Presidents work to have him removed. Enough of the big programs getting away with everything. Take action Tony. Against both if need be.

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In theory, sure. But in practice, the guys who sit in that Big Chair for the longest time get their longevity because they avoid pissing off their power players.

The Big Ten commish is hoping that the NCAA makes this decision for him.

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Then nothing will happen. I understand the political ramifications of pissing off Michigan. But other programs have some sway as well. And right now there are more of them upset. He needs to act. Michigan needs to have wins vacated and the HC suspended. Michigan has a team with a legit chance to win the national championship and they will try and delay this thing until after the season.

There are no longer any consequences for playing within the rules. So why even bother.

The other big1? Football organizations cheated against michigan's

"ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) A former employee at a Big Ten football program said Monday it was his job to steal signs and he was given details from multiple conference schools before his team played Michigan to compile a spreadsheet of play-calling signals used by the Wolverines last year.
He spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, fearing the disclosures could impact his coaching career.
The employee said he shared with Michigan the documents, which showed the Wolverines' signs and corresponding plays, after his school faced the Jim Harbaugh-led program in 2022."

It's a business. If you ain't cheatin', you'll be beaten.

Harbaugh suspended for the season by the B1G

Jim Harbaugh has been suspended by the Big Ten for the remainder of the regular season pic.twitter.com/kKzmIhh8iJ

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 10, 2023

Not the season. He just can't be on the sidelines for the regular season games, which is only 3 games.

There are more and more rumors of a lot of teams in the B1G cheating in a similar manner. Given the money involved here, I bet nothing material happens.

Per my friend who works for U of M Athletics:

“The university presented evidence of 9 other big ten teams sending in person scouts to the games of opponents, that is why we still have not heard from the Big Ten. Don’t expect any punishment from the conference.”

— Dug McHim (@b4ll_is_lyfe) November 10, 2023

USC and Oregon are going to fit in just fine. Not sure about UCLA and UW.

oski003 said:

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Not the season. He just can't be on the sidelines for the regular season games, which is only 3 games.

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will the um admin swallow this or will they can him? what am i thinking? never mind.

Big Ten in a letter to Michigan:

"The goal of the scheme was to gain an unfair advantage by stealing the signs of teams that the University’s football team was due to play later in the season. Such misconduct inherently compromises the integrity of competition."

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 10, 2023

Big Ten to U-M on why it acted now: "The existence of the impermissible scheme is proven. While other investigatory bodies continue to develop additional evidence … taking immediate action is appropriate and necessary under the Conference’s Sportsmanship Policy."

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 10, 2023

Big Ten says it does not have knowledge Jim Harbaugh knew of the scheme.

"This is not a sanction of Coach Harbaugh. It is a sanction against the University that, under the extraordinary circumstances presented by this offensive conduct, best fits the violation..."

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 10, 2023

Econ141 said:

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There are more and more rumors of a lot of teams in the B1G cheating in a similar manner. Given the money involved here, I bet nothing material happens.

Per my friend who works for U of M Athletics:

“The university presented evidence of 9 other big ten teams sending in person scouts to the games of opponents, that is why we still have not heard from the Big Ten. Don’t expect any punishment from the conference.”

— Dug McHim (@b4ll_is_lyfe) November 10, 2023

USC and Oregon are going to fit in just fine. Not sure about UCLA and UW.

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have you forgotten that yucla snuck out the back door in order to go over to UM's house? At midnight?

HAIRBALL SUSPENDED!

Michigan is seeking court order to stay the suspension. Popcorn.

Ok, I was wrong about this and am kind of shocked. Michigan is undefeated. The B1G says they have no evidence Harbaugh knew (though the DC had to know or what is the point?) and there is evidence the rest of the conference was doing the same thing. It would have been so easy to push the investigation into the off season to determine Harbaugh's involvement and then issue any suspensions for a body-bag game next year. This was huge. If Michigan loses during Harbaugh's suspension…..

Everyone was right. Ohio State runs the Big 10.

Time to get Michigan to switch to the ACC along with Notre Dame.

oski003 said:

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Not the season. He just can't be on the sidelines for the regular season games, which is only 3 games.

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He's gonna be in the coaches box with binoculars stealing them signs himself!

oski003 said:

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Not the season. He just can't be on the sidelines for the regular season games, which is only 3 games.

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Except 2 of those 3 games are the biggest of the year: #9 Penn State and #3 Ohio State.

Oski87 said:

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Everyone was right. Ohio State runs the Big 10.

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Confirmed

calumnus said:

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oski003 said:

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Not the season. He just can't be on the sidelines for the regular season games, which is only 3 games.

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Except 2 of those 3 games are the biggest of the year: #9 Penn State and #3 Ohio State.

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Yup.
MASSIVE!

calumnus said:

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Ok, I was wrong about this and am kind of shocked. Michigan is undefeated. The B1G says they have no evidence Harbaugh knew (though the DC had to know or what is the point?) and there is evidence the rest of the conference was doing the same thing. It would have been so easy to push the investigation into the off season to determine Harbaugh's involvement and then issue any suspensions for a body-bag game next year. This was huge. If Michigan loses during Harbaugh's suspension…..

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It's hairball's responsibility, whether he knew about it or not (and no hc of a program like this doesn't know everything that's going on in his program). The only other question is the extent to which UM and the BIG condone this or not. Doesn't matter if it's explicitly written out in Codes, Laws or Rules. Doesn't matter what Hairball believes. Was it being done and was it wrong? Add in the longevity of it and you have...suspension (or, as I prefer, termination). Now, if his AD knew or should have, if the BIG Commish knew or should have, they're partly responsible.

Just substitute Penn St., Mich St.

I suspect that Michigan will have a temporary restraining order against this right quick even with the Friday holiday. I'm no Michigan lawyer but I expect that Michigan laws and university employment policies require more due process here for something that impacts Harbaugh's job.

I also think any coach that doesn't require changing signals from week to week or even within a game is guilty of coaching malpractice.

Rushinbear said:

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calumnus said:

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Ok, I was wrong about this and am kind of shocked. Michigan is undefeated. The B1G says they have no evidence Harbaugh knew (though the DC had to know or what is the point?) and there is evidence the rest of the conference was doing the same thing. It would have been so easy to push the investigation into the off season to determine Harbaugh's involvement and then issue any suspensions for a body-bag game next year. This was huge. If Michigan loses during Harbaugh's suspension…..

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It's hairball's responsibility, whether he knew about it or not (and no hc of a program like this doesn't know everything that's going on in his program). The only other question is the extent to which UM and the BIG condone this or not. Doesn't matter if it's explicitly written out in Codes, Laws or Rules. Doesn't matter what Hairball believes. Was it being done and was it wrong? Add in the longevity of it and you have...suspension (or, as I prefer, termination). Now, if his AD knew or should have, if the BIG Commish knew or should have, they're partly responsible.

Just substitute Penn St., Mich St.

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Yes, of course, I'm not arguing whether the penalty is warranted or not. I'm just saying that, as of right now, Michigan is in the CFP. It would have been easy for the B1G to "wait for all the facts to be known" (ie the offseason, or after the next three games have been played) so the B1G maximizes it's revenues from the CFP, first, with very good justification. I mean look at all the BS Larry Scott's PAC-12 officials and replay booth did in multiple Big Games to get Stanford into the BCS. A conference knee capping its front runner with three games left for something done last season? When the charges were just brought up a few weeks ago and they have not even completed the investigation? That is shocking. Cal has taken over a year and a half to investigate Knowlton in the McKeever case, these things get dragged out of you want to drag them out.

calumnus said:

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Ok, I was wrong about this and am kind of shocked. Michigan is undefeated. The B1G says they have no evidence Harbaugh knew (though the DC had to know or what is the point?) and there is evidence the rest of the conference was doing the same thing. It would have been so easy to push the investigation into the off season to determine Harbaugh's involvement and then issue any suspensions for a body-bag game next year. This was huge. If Michigan loses during Harbaugh's suspension…..

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There is a cultural element here, people in the Midwest (especially outside the big cities) are more serious about rules and more upstanding than in the rest of the country. I have a friend who went to Purdue, and he said that most of their final exams were not proctored, the students abiding strictly to the honor code, and that the only people who ever cheated were some of the foreign students, who were very much resented by the locals for this. That is a trait about the American heartland that many outsiders like Tocqueville admired, and even today, some of those values are still in place in the Midwest.

I think a lot of people at Michigan are genuinely embarrassed by Harbaugh's cheating, that's why their administration responded.