Michigan is the current college football national champion. The Wolverines are also a outlaw program.
Two things can be true at the same time.
No one can fictionalize the UM title. Even if the college football police try to confiscate the trophy — and they won’t — Wolverines fans know that the Maize and Blue defeated four consecutive ranked opponents last season, and five in the last six games, on the way to claiming first school elegant. since 1997. It happened. This cannot happen.
Removing the championship flags appeases the authorities and somewhat discourages outraged fans, but it’s like removing the cookie jar after they’ve been eaten.
At the same time, the footnotes to history may appear in small print, but they are never forgotten, often to the chagrin of home fans.
In the 1990 Fifth Down Game, a Big Eight officiating crew mistakenly gave Colorado an extra down, and the Buffaloes scored as time expired to defeat Missouri 33–31. Colorado finished the season with an 11-1-1 record and shared national titles with Georgia Tech.
Buffs fans are still celebrating their championship. Others aren’t so sure. A bad decision isn’t the same as cheating, but history isn’t always adept at offering nuance.
Florida fans embrace their team’s 2008 national championship, but check the footnotes: 41 players from that squad were arrested. This fact apparently has little to do with the Gators’ performance on the field, but it still raises eyebrows. Should some UF players have been allowed to play?
Miami fans still claim Ohio State stole the 2002 national title theirs when Terry Porter robbed the Hurricanes by throwing a late flag into the end zone that gave the Buckeyes second life; OSU won 31-24 in double overtime.
Ohio State fans feel no need to apologize, noting that unlike Michigan, the Buckeyes did nothing wrong. Still, two truths remain: 1. OSU won the title; 2. The flag helped.
On a larger, darker scale, so will Michigan’s 2023 national title, which was won on the field even as it was maliciously manufactured behind closed doors. NCAA and Big Ten rules were broken. Cheating occurred. By multiple coaches and team members, over multiple seasons. Systemic malfeasance was ongoing.
Jim Harbaugh got out of Dodge before the NCAA group arrived with a list of infractions that included a four-year penalty for cause and a one-year suspension for trying to throw investigators off the trail. Jimmy the Kid, who never lies, cheats or steals — except when he does — has found a new hiding place in the NFL, safely away from NCAA infractions that would make it a challenge for him to return to college coaching. Not that he’s too worried. Harbaugh won his national title. There is no reason to return to the minor leagues.
But just because Harbaugh jumped for the Los Angeles Chargers doesn’t mean Michigan is out of historic danger. A stain remains. Wolverines fans can opt out of seeing this, but like mustard on a tie, it’s hard for anyone else to ignore.
Connor’s Stallions The alleged espionage deserves an addendum in any synopsis for the 2023 season. (It already has its own TV documentary. “Sign Stealer” is scheduled for release August 27 on Netflix.) The former UM employee oversaw a spy ring that included him, or someone who appeared to be winking, winking, in disguise on the Central Michigan sideline during a Chippewas game against Michigan State.
You can’t make this stuff up, even though many Michigan fans argue it’s all made up, or at least the part where Harbaugh knew what was going on under his nose. They want to believe that Stalions was a lone wolf acting on his own to gain favor with his boss. But even if that’s true, as the top dog, Harbaugh should have known what his pup was doing. And how the NCAA notice of allegations shows, it was just another litter of puppies that were misbehaving. Seven members of the UM football program, including new coach Sherrone Moore, are accused of violating NCAA rules.
One bad apple can ruin the whole group. Three or four make you wonder if the show is rotten to the core. Seven? The entire tree is dead.
However, the other truth remains: It’s indisputable that Michigan played excellent football in 2023. I’m not willing to say the Wolverines won the national championship fair and square – put an asterisk on it — why Cheatgate allowed UM to reinforce a declining base, restoring players’ confidence. Self-confidence is essential to the success of a program. But no matter how the Wolverines got there, they performed well when it mattered most, defeating No. 9 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 18 Iowa before defeating No. 5 Alabama and No. 2 Washington in the College Football Playoff.
Michigan was an extremely talented team that thrived on a secret sauce of trust and team chemistry. It wasn’t just cheating that won them the title.
In a rare show of praise for Ohio State’s bitter rival, Buckeyes tailback TreVeyon Henderson remembers being impressed with Michigan’s camaraderie last season.
“I was looking at them at the end of the season, and not really looking at the game, but focused on their sideline and the pregame interaction with the coaches and players and I’m seeing a lot of joy on their faces,” Henderson said. “I’m like, ‘Man, something’s happening on that team.’ A few days later, I saw where more than 70 players arrived baptized on your team.”
This light-hearted story, however, comes up against the ugliness of cheating coaches and staff who put their players in a bad situation. The players were not so much complicit as committed. But history is not always concerned with making distinctions. Instead, he will remember two truths: Michigan won. And cheated along the way.
roller@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Michigan football can’t escape two truths: champions and cheaters
