Nov 26, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer shake hands before the game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-Imagn Images Joe Maiorana-Imagn Images

Urban Meyer Addresses Severity of MSU Rival's Alleged Sign Stealing

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 11:39 AM ET

Michigan State's bitter in-state rival, Michigan, is expected to be handed a punishment from the NCAA for its notorious Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal before the start of the 2025 college football season.

What kind of punishment it would be would likely depend on just how extreme this alleged violation was. Many Michigan fans argue that the sign-stealing was not advantageous or was within college football guidelines.

On a recent episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, legendary college football coach and former rival of Michigan football, Urban Meyer, was asked to rate some notable punishments on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the highest level of severity). Of course, the Michigan sign-stealing scandal had to be discussed.

"On the surface, is it a competitive advantage to know the signals of your opponents -- illegally, you got them illegally -- of course it is," Meyer said. "People have to understand that when you say signals, there's only a couple of signals you can get that fast in real time: Is it a run or a pass? Is that significant? Hell yeah it is. It's a tremendous advantage.

"It changes the entire technique of your defensive front -- linebackers and the (secondary) -- everybody knows it's a pass, that's a completely different story. And then the whole right or left, if they know it's a run to the right or run to the left. And that's why I understand what the advantages are.

"... For an offense, it's all about the blitz. If they can signal to the offense in saying a blitz is coming, either from the boundary, from the field or from an internal, that's a hell of an advantage. So, if you can get that kind of information in real time to your players -- and that's still to be determined if that was really happening, and we all hear that it was -- then that is a 1."

Michigan suspended its head coach, Sherrone Moore, for its 2025 Week 3 and 4 contests against Central Michigan and Nebraska, respectively. Moore and the Wolverines went 8-5 last season in what was his first campaign as full-time head coach.

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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