U-M analyst Stalions resigns amid investigation
-
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Connor Stalions, the Michigan football analyst at the center of the NCAA’s investigation into illegal off-campus scouting and signal stealing, resigned from his position Friday, the school announced.
Stalions, who officially joined Michigan’s staff in 2022 but had been around the program for several years, was suspended with pay by the school Oct. 20, pending the outcome of the investigation.
A source initially told ESPN that Stalions had been fired, before Michigan later announced Friday that he had resigned. In a statement, the university said it was “unable to comment further regarding this personnel matter.”
Both Stalions and his attorney issued statements to The Athletic on Friday night, saying in part that his decision to resign was to keep from being a distraction to the team, which is unbeaten (8-0) and hosts Purdue on Saturday.
“I love the University of Michigan and its football program,” Stalions told The Athletic. “And I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to work with the incredible student athletes, coach [Jim] Harbaugh and the other coaches that have been a part of the Michigan football family during my tenure. I do not want to be a distraction from what I hope to be a championship run for the team, and I will continue to cheer them on.”
His attorney, Brad Beckworth, added, in part: “Connor also wants to make it clear that, to his knowledge, neither Coach Harbaugh, nor any other coach or staff member, told anyone to break any rules or were aware of improper conduct regarding the recent allegations of advanced scouting.”
According to a source, Stalions did not attend a meeting Friday with Michigan officials, possibly on advice of counsel. Sources are unsure whether he will cooperate with the NCAA investigation, which is examining whether Stalions and Michigan orchestrated in-person scouting of Michigan’s future opponents, violating a rule established in 1994.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a longtime Michigan fan, Stalions earned a salary of $55,000 and spent games on the Michigan sideline, often consulting with defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and other coaches. According to a LinkedIn page he recently deleted, Stalions is a former officer in the Marine Corps and worked with Michigan as a volunteer for several years before joining the staff in 2022.
According to ESPN sources, Stalions purchased tickets to more than 35 games at 17 stadiums around the country involving Michigan opponents in the Big Ten and potential College Football Playoff opponents. A former Division III player and coach told ESPN’s Dan Murphy that Stalions had paid him several hundred dollars to attend three Big Ten games involving future Michigan opponents and record their sidelines on his smartphone.
ESPN first reported Stalions’ involvement in the NCAA probe, and sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Mark Schlabach that the NCAA enforcement staff sought access to Stalions’ computer as part of its investigation.
Central Michigan said Tuesday it is investigating a man who resembled Stalions who appeared in its bench area for the Sept. 1 opener at Michigan State, after learning of images of the man late Monday. The man wore team-issued gear and sunglasses for a night game as well as one of the 50 bench passes given to non-players for games. Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain said following Tuesday’s game against Northern Illinois that school officials are “aware of a picture floating around with the sign-stealer guy,” and “doing everything they can to get to the bottom of it.” CMU had not concluded its investigation as of Friday, an official told ESPN.
Anil Jain, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State and a nationally recognized facial recognition expert, believes it’s “highly likely” that the images of the man wearing sunglasses and a hat on the Central Michigan sideline and a photo of Stalions on the Michigan sideline are the same person.
At ESPN’s request, Jain and Steven Grosz, a Ph.D. student, used state-of-the-art commercial face recognition system to compare the two photographs. The system compared the images based on several facial characteristics — Jain said they are trade secrets — to provide a similarity score in the range of zero to one. The higher the similarity score, the more likely it is the two faces being compared are the same person.
Jain said the system produced a similarity score of 0.6 when comparing the two photographs. To validate that score, Jain and Grosz compared Stalions’ photo to a database of more than 4,500 photos of white males.
“The reason why it’s 0.6 is because there’s a disguise,” Jain told ESPN. “If I take an identical photo, it would be one. Even changes in the pose, illumination, expression, sunglasses, the match will never be perfect. Based on this analysis, the two images are of the same person with high confidence.”
Harbaugh, in a statement Oct. 19, denied any knowledge of illegal scouting or signal stealing, and said he never directed anyone on his staff to engage in off-campus scouting. Harbaugh said he and his staff would cooperate with the investigation.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, attending the league’s field hockey tournament Friday at Michigan, met with university president Santa Ono, according to sources. The Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy gives Petitti the authority to investigate and discipline Michigan before the lengthy NCAA investigative and infractions process would conclude. Big Ten coaches and athletic directors on recent calls have urged Petitti to discipline Michigan, but thus far no action has been taken.
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
-
Doug Greenberg, ESPN
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway