Why?
1) It is very elaborate in a Machiavellian / Sopranos style, with a ton of people in on it, receipts, evidence of travel, tickets, and damning photos next to the coordinators in-game. Very different than the typical "he said / she said" stuff the NCAA usually investigates. It is crystal clear that high-end people knew about it, and those people know this is illegal. Institutional control is very easy threshhold here.
2) No doubt this constitutes a real advantage. Especially in today's game where there is so much scheming to specific matchups and audibles based on pre-snap reads, there is no debating the kind of advantage you get when you crack the code to an opponent's signals. And doing so well in advance of the game, with the aid of technology / analysis, is a huge advantage relative to "picking something up" in-game.
3) The Big 10. You have been well known to get up on the soapbox and preach about academic integrity, tradition (think Rose Bowl and forever opposition to playoff), and fair play. We wouldn't have had a 2020 season at all if it were up to the Big 10. True that Michigan is the arguable crown jewel of the conference, but that may actually work against them, and the aggrieved parties are Big 10 schools, not out of conference opponents. If the damaged party was the SEC, totally different "circle the wagons" approach. The more visible evidence that requires mental gymnastics and a departure from logic to defend Michigan, the more pressure the Big 10 will feel to pre-emptively drop the hammer on one of their own in advance of the NCAA.
More than a decent chance Michigan forfeits games, effectively forfeiting chances at the playoff.
1) It is very elaborate in a Machiavellian / Sopranos style, with a ton of people in on it, receipts, evidence of travel, tickets, and damning photos next to the coordinators in-game. Very different than the typical "he said / she said" stuff the NCAA usually investigates. It is crystal clear that high-end people knew about it, and those people know this is illegal. Institutional control is very easy threshhold here.
2) No doubt this constitutes a real advantage. Especially in today's game where there is so much scheming to specific matchups and audibles based on pre-snap reads, there is no debating the kind of advantage you get when you crack the code to an opponent's signals. And doing so well in advance of the game, with the aid of technology / analysis, is a huge advantage relative to "picking something up" in-game.
3) The Big 10. You have been well known to get up on the soapbox and preach about academic integrity, tradition (think Rose Bowl and forever opposition to playoff), and fair play. We wouldn't have had a 2020 season at all if it were up to the Big 10. True that Michigan is the arguable crown jewel of the conference, but that may actually work against them, and the aggrieved parties are Big 10 schools, not out of conference opponents. If the damaged party was the SEC, totally different "circle the wagons" approach. The more visible evidence that requires mental gymnastics and a departure from logic to defend Michigan, the more pressure the Big 10 will feel to pre-emptively drop the hammer on one of their own in advance of the NCAA.
More than a decent chance Michigan forfeits games, effectively forfeiting chances at the playoff.
