Ohio State AD: ‘No question’ Michigan benefited from sign stealing, but only 1 thing Buckeyes can do about it (2024)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s athletic department took a vow of public silence throughout Big Ten and NCAA investigations into Michigan’s sign-stealing scheme, hoping a win in Ann Arbor would allow the Buckeyes to have their say.

The Wolverines spoiled that plan with a 30-24 victory en route to their undefeated national championship season. While that validated Michigan’s achievements, for many it did not erase the taint the scandal applied to the previous two victories in The Game.

Outgoing OSU athletic director Gene Smith has broken his silence on the subject in his final weeks on the job. He told cleveland.com on Thursday he does not believe the 2021 and 2022 editions of The Game were played on the level.

“They benefited through that process they had in place, there’s no question,” said Smith, whose 19-year tenure ends in June. “Did it give them a touchdown or 14 points? I don’t know. I didn’t sit in those seats. But it wasn’t right.”

Connor Stalions, a former Michigan recruiting staffer, is alleged to have arranged for individuals to attend games of future opponents in person. Those individuals used cell phones to record the play signals sent in from the sidelines. Both actions are violations of NCAA rules.

The Big Ten suspended former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three regular-season games — including The Game — as punishment for the program violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy. An NCAA investigation into the matter remains open.

Smith does not expect satisfaction for Buckeye fans in the form of overturning the results of those affected games.

“Nobody’s going to retroactively for two years vacate their games,” Smith said.

Smith did tell WOSU’s “All Sides with Anna Staver” on Thursday he believes, at minimum, those 2021 and 2022 Wolverines victories should carry an asterisk. Ohio State had won eight straight and 15 of 16 in the series before Michigan is alleged to have begun the sign stealing scheme, which coincided with the start of a three-game winning streak in the rivalry.

Smith said he was disappointed Michigan was not a more willing participant in the investigations. However, he also said the scandal has not substantially affected the institutional or administrative relationships between the schools. While the rivalry on the football field continues to intensify, in reality, Ohio State and Michigan share alliances within the Big Ten on matters such as revenue distribution, expansion and the media rights deal and other topics.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day still has not publicly discussed the specific allegations against Michigan or what effect he believes they had on those games. Smith said he and Day discussed the matter, and he acknowledged the coach was “hurt” by the episode.

The best advice he could give was essentially something he also had to tell himself: “Brother, you gotta let it go.”

“I’ve got scars all my life in this business,” Smith said. “If I just wallow in those scars, I can’t move forward. You’ve gotta look at history. You’ve gotta respect the total sum of our experiences in life. But for you to be where you need to be, you’ve just got to swallow it.

“Even if they went back in and said there’s an asterisk around those games or they’re going to vacate those games, it ain’t going to heal the scar. You’ll be 72 years old, that scar’s still going to be there.

“So move forward. Beat them next year.”

Michigan comes to Ohio Stadium on Nov. 30.

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