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Its glorious that ohio is…

Its glorious that ohio is higher ranked. As of right now.

Interceptions thrown is…

Interceptions thrown is listed twice. The first time Michigan's common opponent has 10 interceptions. Second time is 8. I assume one of those didn't get updated. Hopefully in a week the real number is 14.

Hopefully that call doesn't…

Hopefully that call doesn't make anyone upset. If that's not grounding you'd have to throw it the other direction to achieve this grounding.

He either releases the ball that split second or gets clobbered in the end zone by the lineman charging right at his face. He gets away with it if he puts enough into the ball to get it in the vicinity. He didn't. He was also just aiming for the sidelines and throwing while he fell backwards to avoid the sack. 

The main/leading quote that…

The main/leading quote that I agree with and which impacts all of us as alumni. As said not enough to file a claim on its own, but the court would be wise to consider it:

The alumni’s decision to attend the University of Michigan was influenced heavily by its distinguished reputation, and that reputation is now at risk. The commissioner’s unfair actions, which imply misconduct by the university and Coach Harbaugh despite no such finding, cast a shadow not only over the institution but also over all individuals associated with it, past and present, questioning their commitment to integrity and adherence to rules.

Not that the NCAA will play…

Not that the NCAA will play this smart, but they have the rare opportunity to come out of this looking like a cool level-headed and impartial body. Larger and stronger conferences are also a threat to NCAA negotiating power so they may have double reasons to do the right thing here.

If Harbaugh talks, wonderful…

If Harbaugh talks, wonderful opportunity to take it to the B1G without risking an actual sportsmanship violation. What the university could say in a legal filing is also juicy, but "Harbaugh details three times he raised specific player safety concerns to the B1G and they did nothing". I hope he understands this is an opportunity to unload skeletons in others closets while maintaining the high ground. 

He makes some decent points…

He makes some decent points but...

#3 on his list needs to be changed to "the NFL understands the risks and has implemented a low-cost helmet microphone system which Michigan has suggested the B1G and NCAA implement, yet they refuse to consider this obvious fix to their concerns of player safety".

Add a #4 while it is even debatable if sending an unpaid friend to use a phone to film the sidelines qualifies as an NCAA rule infraction, or whether it would provide any benefit over the "All-22" video footage teams already get of their opponents, the marginal advantage of advanced scouting is so negligible that the NCAA has been considering removing the rule altogether. 

This reads like a scheme…

This reads like a scheme where 2 big ten schools probably in concert with some other B1G leadership elements have colluded and decided that they have a financial incentive to remove Michigan from the B1G. Unfortunately, the method they are using to do so defrauds Michigan of rightful income and by unfairly and by artifice falsely reducing the financial value of Michigan's brand, current contracts, and potential advertising revenue. 

If you want an interesting read, its 20 years old but this NYT article is more apropos by the day.

If you find out before the…

If you find out before the game it will likely be in the morning. 

TRO's are highly difficult…

TRO's are highly difficult to obtain, easier in state court but assume its heading to fed court after the weekend.

Part of the legal argument needs to include the public interest. They will have to demonstrate to the court why it requires this extraordinary remedy. This case indirectly involves millions of people who otherwise have no normal experience with the courts and justice but who have a vested interest in this adjudication. In that respect, it is an opportunity for justice to reach millions, to help bring our country together in an increasingly polarized environment and in an understanding that one of our founding tenants is the application of due process; it is the opposite of mob rule. If they simply speak to the arguments they run the real risk that this is consolidated in fed court early next week, overruling the state court but agreeing to hear the injunction, with a briefing in 21 days. 

The one silver lining of the b1g doing this on a friday afternoon of a fed holiday is that they wont be able to ask to move it to federal court before the game on Saturday. 

Advice you can keep: never…

Advice you can keep: never ignore an opportunity. 

In this case what I was most appreciative of, was that the writers only once made the cutting insinuation that Michigan is being unfairly targeted based on the wishes of other members.

In this case less is more. Say it many times, the B1G is more likely to ignore it or fight it, but once in all the barrage of injustices, we may actually get an impartial referee crew at the Game this year. 

US Antitrust law is designed…

US Antitrust law is designed to prohibit collusion between parties that should be economic competitors and to avoid monopolistic behavior from forming. It's designed to increase competition so that benefits are passed on to the populace in the form of lower prices, better products, and innovation. The basis of it, the Sherman Act, is quite old and the courts have struggled to interpret it to a changing economic landscape over the last 100+ years (my opinion). There is a lot of leeway and the DOJ provides some (my opinion) guidance on its views, which change (my opinion).

In this case, the NCAA has put rules in place so that teams can only spend so much money. So, does limiting the financial expenditures of a group of teams competing economically for advertising profits, better teams/products, and innovation harm competition? It may make it possible for more teams to compete but that does not necessarily mean that there is a benefit passed on to the consumer.

The counter argument in favor of limiting fields of play is usually based on the idea of equity, that reducing the expenditures a team (in this case) can make, makes it more likely that there will be more competition. The courts have struggled with this in practice.

It's probably also worth noting because the article didn't mention it, but antitrust law makes a large distinction between anything in this grey area and much more serious criminal violations. The DOJ won't even look at most anything besides possible criminal violations unless they want to push a theory, and I don't believe this current DOJ would take any action under this theory.

That is spot on and why…

That is spot on and why there is no absolute best place to file this thing. Plenty of judgeships out there who would tell you to get in the back of the line with your minor employment case about college sports.

1) It may be in the client's…

1) It may be in the client's best interest/approval that this was leaked. It's better not to have to file a motion and this is a shot across the bow when it gets back to the B1G. 

2) Yes fed would be better for a number of reasons but you also run the risk it won't even be considered for more than 3 weeks or if it is the judge will keep the suspension in effect while expediting the hearing process. Filing in A2 or MI state court would likely get a quick review and minimally Harbaugh gets to continue coaching during the week and for the Game. If the B1G wants to argue jurisdiction they're always welcome to file a counter motion, but now they've come in as an interested party and that could expedite things. If true I would assume they file in the Eastern District in Michigan because that's where I'd judge shop. 

Or maybe letting it leak to…

Or maybe letting it leak to a Michigan message board was a scripted shot across the bow.

The best filing is the one you don't end up having to make. 

Also not a Warde apologist…

Also not a Warde apologist but on something like this you want the president out there, if they are willing. Don't believe anyone is suggesting that Warde should have penned this letter instead of Ono. The AD is always going to argue for the athletic program. The university president speaks for the organization as a whole. 

Wonder if they would file…

Wonder if they would file against the B1G or also name individual voting members. 

Maybe better for an actual response to a show cause letter from the NCAA but don't forget the lack of any interest or action against Central Michigan. It looks like he was inside the team only area on the sideline near the coaches. If we compare apples as far as I know there's no evidence suggesting Harbaugh knew of this scheme. Military officer hired to potentially analyze on field signs. What's Central Michigan's excuse for dressing up a non-employee or rather low level Michigan football analyst in CMU apparel and have him whisper into coaches ear on the sideline? There's a clear violation there and getting past knowledge is super easy. 

Very much on the outside here but it seems there is a lot of grey in college football, especially now that betting is legal. Harbaugh has also been very vocal that the players should come first, receive a fair share of the profits of the work and likeness, etc. There's a lot of motive out there to remove his voice from the process. Assuming this firm has history representing Michigan I'd love to see them tie this to something larger if they can make it stick. There's been mention that the FBI is involved in a separate UNRELATED investigation where Michigan appears to be either the victim or reporter. That piques interest for a number of reasons and at some point in time someone's going to file a RICO lawsuit against the B1G or NCAA. 

Very sorry to hear about…

Very sorry to hear about this, especially for any from the community who may have come across this before it was removed. You know this is a Michigan blog because these actions won't have any defenders and it will stay up for the duration. Fairly comfortable saying that this would be ho hum down in texas though. 

Profile picture for user Toby Flenderson

Toby Flenderson

September 27th, 2023 at 11:23 AM ^

Sorry y’all, as a Texas grad, this will be one of the games I’ll be rooting against Michigan. 
 

We promise we will call the dogs off in the 4th quarter ;) 

 

https://mgoblog.com/comment/244976365#comment-244976365

Yes its true that the…

Yes its true that the hearing isn't until October 5th and nothing in their investigation changed since the investigation concluded three months ago, other than media stories breaking. But let's not kid ourselves; the media stories only broke because State has been struggling against very bad teams and is on track to lose eight (8) games, including their first next weekend. So State leaked the story. 

Per ESPN, the universities interim president refused ESPN's FOIA request on this matter on July 30, 2023. The talking heads saying "well the university president/AD didn't know until now" should check their FOIA response letters. 

Edit: My initial response may be a tad unfair. From a litigation standpoint, MSU's position that they are terminating his contract for essentially conduct that looks bad, is significantly weakened if they fire him after next Saturday, assuming MSU gets blown out, and continues to lose games at least every other week, for the remainder of the season. That would give Tucker a much better argument to claim all the facts had been long known to leadership including his "admissions" and that the only thing that changed is his on-field performance- covered elsewhere in his contract. 

Well this isn't my hill to…

Well this isn't my hill to die on, or to make a buck on, but if it was...

Make a website, heck, make it a weekly Diary here. Post all the advertisers who advertised nationally for NCAA CFB games AND post their competitors who offer similar products but who didn't advertise. (Please buy the competition and don't buy the advertisers). An argument could be made from a purely practical standpoint that the company who doesn't advertise in the space may actually have the superior product and may not be paying extra overhead for advertising and could pass some of that on to ensure competitive pricing. Enough people start tweeting this or sharing it on social media, I think some serious conversations would be had at that sorry excuse for a corporate headquarters in Indianapolis.

Justin Fields raises…

Justin Fields raises concerns about racial threats and the environment at Georgia - the NCAA expedites his case and grants him an exception for immediate eligibility to play at OSU.  At the same time, Fields’ sister remains a student athlete at Georgia - and manages this toxic, racially charged environment.

I think the bigger takeaway from that is that the NCAA acknowledged the seriousness of the concern/risk to students at Georgia, which I have to assume was more grave than whether a coach had purchased a few meals, by granting the immediate eligibility, but took no action to investigate the serious concern/risk at Georgia of a substantially greater magnitude than what we have before us now. 

Haven't logged in for a few…

Haven't logged in for a few years but wanted to give some context. These views are my own and not those of any other Non-NCAA entity I may belong to but that requires me to lead with this disclaimer. 

On January 5, 2023 we learned that Michigan was under investigation for Rules Violations. It is likely given the ease at which this type of bad news against Michigan leaks, but still an assumption, that Harbaugh had not met with Investigative staff or provided any information to the NCAA much earlier than this date.

On July 25th we learned more details from Yahoo and others including MLive

Harbaugh is alleged to have misled investigators and made false statements to NCAA officials during a probe of rules violations within the Michigan football program in 2021. Among the misdeeds, the NCAA alleges impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 “dead period” and improper contact with players on the team during workouts and non-practice times, both Level II violations.

It was also framed as a lack of being "forthright".

The 2021 COVID-19 dead period ended at the end of May, 2021, at least 19 months prior.

What is interesting about this timeline is the allegations that Harbaugh wasn't fully forthcoming combined with the minor nature of the events in question and the length of intervening time before Harbaugh was even put on notice. At some point likely in early 2023, NCAA Investigators interviewed Harbaugh, or sent him interrogatories, or deposed him- (the specifics of how aren't really important), at least 19 months after said alleged violations and likely longer.

For those who have never participated in some sort of formal proceeding with representation, you can be sure Harbaugh was instructed that if he did not know (for sure) the answer to a question, to just say that, to not guess or speculate. Now, knowing Harbaugh as the rest of you do, the guy is honest to a fault. There are likely a lot of I don't recall's that Harbaugh answered with in relation to whether when on x date in early 2021 he whipped out his credit card, who was in attendance and whether he paid for y and z recruits either on purpose or on accident at a local Michigan fast food joint.

We know that Harbaugh met with NCAA investigators multiple times over this, so the forthcoming charge wont be that he refused to meet with them at all. (Though there is only so much any of us could say about a meal we had forgotten about completely for 19-24 months). 

In order to claim that Harbaugh was not forthright or mislead Investigators, Investigators would need to assess Harbaughs credibility (against the credibility of any other witness or documents they may have). Obviously a court would throw any credibility determination out in a heartbeat as cross examination wasn't part of the process.

Still, for our purposes the Investigator's Report of Investigation (ROI) is going to have been written at least in rough draft by now so counsel has a frame of reference for discussing settlement with Michigan. I can all but guarantee that nowhere within that ROI does the NCAA frame the likelihood of Harbaugh's lack of forthright answers against his frame of mind, giving him an honest benefit of the doubt as a neutral party would be required to do. Harbaugh runs a program with over 100 football players who he spends the time to get to know personally, along with their families. This is open source information from any interview or post game conference he does. He has a large staff, and recruiting targets of 250 high schoolers and their families over a 3 year rolling period. Harbaugh is also a dedicated family man (from watching the Amazon prime series), with more children than 98% of the people reading this blog, and he spends as much time with them as he can. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if his kids were also around for that fateful mid-afternoon meal. There is nothing from the public record that infers that this meal was anything extraordinary or would have remained within Harbaugh's mind for more than a year- there's no fight that broke out, no recruit that suddenly dropped out as a result of Harbaugh's actions, and no social media or news post detailing the "scandal" shortly thereafter.

Assume they have his credit card receipt and it shows he paid, what cross referencing the receipt amount from the online menu, for ~20 people, and the investigators have the former recruits saying they think they ate at that place with some players and maybe others, and we have the official visit log for the day, without Harbaugh admitting "oh yeah I totally bought that burger for that recruit", its really very hard to recreate whether an impermissible purchase occurred and especially whether Harbaugh was aware of what was happening in all the hustle of any day of his life.

In short, while Harbaugh probably remembers what he ate for lunch last month at the same date and time better than the inexperienced NCAA investigators who pursued this, it is not logical to assume that more likely than not he does recall in more detail otherwise insignificant details from a year and a half ago. If the NCAA's ROI acknowledged this, they would not have pursued a level 1 charge for dishonesty.

Now, my speculation as to why talks broke down:

The AP reported on July 25th:

Harbaugh previously told NCAA investigators in multiple meetings that he would not agree to an unethical conduct charge for not being forthright, according to two people familiar with the situation. 

This dovetails with the comment from the ESPN article today quoting Harbaugh:

Harbaugh said. "I'd love to lay it all out there. There's nothing to be ashamed of, but now is not that time."

Harbaugh is old school. He likely believes his word is his bond. He isn't going to admit to doing something wrong (like not being forthright) when he doesn't believe he did it. If the NCAA can't show beyond a reasonable doubt it knows the mind of Harbaugh and its knowledge says otherwise, what are we even doing here? 

While not probative, the backdrop of the NCAA's compliance apparatus here is interesting and suggests an open bias; 3 of the 8 senior vice presidents who make all of the initial decisions (or who would shut down an investigation before settlements are proposed) are Notre Dame grads, including both regulatory facing SVP's likely spearheading or approving this investigation and settlement talks. Additionally, 2 of 8 are SEC Grads, and none are B1G undergraduate alumni. That's a quorum for anti-Michigan bias which the NCAA takes zero steps to counter. 

There are institutional risks that the NCAA is ignoring which likely make it more likely that bias or corruption exist within its regulatory department. NCAA Investigators are probably paid half of what your plumber or electrician make, and they work for a compliance department smaller and less developed than Michigan State's. They also are not subject to yearly disclosure forms for all sources of income, cross referenced by audit from the NCAA of their tax records. In fact, the NCAA has no real controls in place to limit the institutional risks of one of its Investigators taking a $75k bribe- their entire yearly salary, in bitcoin, from an alum at their alma matter. It's fairly likely that given the opportunity, the Alabama/Georgia/Notre Dame boosters of the world would pay that to have an active investigation against Michigan football to mention to every recruit. 

It would not surprise me if the NCAA as an institution is upended at some point over the next 10 years after a federal investigation into corruption between NCAA referees and the large betting sites, funneling BTC or other more untraceable items of value, which make billions of dollars in profit per year, where we find out the NCAA has been ignoring complaints and obvious signs for a while. I have no knowledge of any impending investigation, but the environment is extremely ripe for corruption. Within this backdrop it's hilarious to see the NCAA so focused on whether Harbaugh can't recall his meal details from years ago, or whether he wasn't forthright. 

Like as of 10:45pm Friday…

Like as of 10:45pm Friday Night? He's been a maybe since before Michigan beat OSU and Iowa. That can't have hurt things any. Also cant believe I'm saying this, but it would be hilarious if OSU beating Utah is what convinces him that B1G is going to make him a better player. 

Now if we just remember to…

Now if we just remember to be LOUD.

I hear Michigan fans should…

I hear Michigan fans should be exclaiming how amazing it would be if we actually won, rather than all the bank it in this thread. Let's not motivate our opponent, as if fan bases meant much anyhow.

Yeah I'm sure nobody is…

Yeah I'm sure nobody is going to fire up the home printer with some card stock. If you are going to cheat you're going to cheat. 

I think the entire board…

There's a better rumor out there that was posted earlier but I hope it dies for strategic reasons. I think the entire board should be absolutely convinced that Dax won't play, so as to do our part and throw Georgia a psychological  planning curve.

Just be pumped game time if #30 is on the field.

Yes but as a plug in, we…

Yes but as a plug in, we need more PA's out there. A good PA as a family practice person is worth their weight in gold both as a cost reductive measure and also as a service to the community as a whole. A lot of people rely on a PA as a family doctor if the practice only has one MD and obviously not all doctors have the same skill sets either. 

Revisiting this double post…

Revisiting this double post as our flight was just canceled as well. 

Road trip it. We are leaving tonight and renting a beach house for a week :) Going to be great memories.

Exactly with you, Blue. It's…

Exactly with you, Blue. It's so fascinating to me that during the first few months of the vaccine, there was actually a red county advantage. For instance Ohio was a little over a month ahead of Michigan in getting the vaccine available to the under 30 crowd. It's almost as if people are idiotic enough to make poor health choices if it might favor their political argument of choice. 

Submarine mode. This could…

Submarine mode. This could all be an elaborate ruse. Either he's playing and we want Georgia to plan for him not playing, or he's not playing and we want Georgia to plan for him playing. 

The reasons people are using…

The reasons people are using to not get the vaccine are not based in reality or scientific fact, but memes and far-right fear mongering organizations. 

7 of the top 10 highest covid infection rates may surprise you given your hypothesis.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html

Things aren't as simple as you'd like to make them out to be, but yes, lots of non-medical people  or "I know an East Lansing Nurse" comments in here.

 

Someone needs to find a link…

Someone needs to find a link for Maize colored facemasks and post here. Amazon is coming up empty, and blue is just not going to cut it. 

There actually isn’t…

There actually isn’t hesitancy from all walks of politics.   It is highly centered on one party.  A party that has spent years badmouthing science.

If you believe that you've never lived in California, especially not in San Francisco. I had never really met a large number of anti-vaxers until I went to the west coast. In a normal environment, that is who we mean when we say anti-vaxers. This is less about a party ignoring science and more about a party believing that accurate information is not being relayed. In a way, the current environment is contributing to a decrease in the trust of the scientific establishment. I wish that more people in positions of authority would realize that how we handle this pandemic is not just the win against COVID-19, it has to be to prepare us for the win against something worse.

The more you've traveled the…

The more you've traveled the world the more you will realize that people are a product of their background and experiences, and almost everyone (90%?) is well meaning. If you don't have that world view, you will have problems almost everywhere you go. For example, if you think it's "the US vs China" you probably aren't going to do well backpacking and hosteling in Asia. Yes there are always risks but if you divide your world into an us vs them you have already lost. Unfortunately in the country you live in, a large percentage (let's call it 30%) don't identify with either party, and if you want to try to harass and belittle them and put them in little boxes, you know they actually might wake up and start voting, and if you caused them to do it, probably not how you'd prefer. That a large percentage of this country is a-political doesn't mean they don't care. Maybe they've seen that neither side really cares about their issues or is going to change anything for the benefit of mankind. Maybe they have realized that family or health or faith or love are what is most important in their one life.

This is less directed at you and more at many of the comments here who would like to divide the world into an us vs them. But I get that it is more easy and righteous to be a keyboard ninja, slaying bad guys and that LS&A grads usually have more free time than Ross grads. (Okay that was a cheap dig, but as a progressive there was a time when I felt my party was the only party who actually tried to put themselves in other people's shoes for a day, but not anymore).

I also live in Broward…

I also live in Broward County and just hosted a couple taking a 4-day break from working in arguably Michigan's most overwhelmed ER (Sparrow in Lansing) and can tell you that their verdict was that:

there is little difference from the current levels in Michigan and Florida (in fact, Florida is a little behind as it was in a Delta trough when the new Omicron wave hit. 

I'm just curious if this is just virtue signaling or if you actually have inside street level medical knowledge on this Florida county. Yes we can all read covid-19 numbers, but hearing from a PA serving in the county is actually really helpful because Florida has a history of less than honest reporting. If I read this right you know an ER doctor in East Lansing so you know better than the OP. Let me know if I missed something.

You read that wrong…

You read that wrong. Ostensibly they had a lot of guys sick the past few weeks. I assume some type of cold/COVID/who knows. 

The real question the NCAA should ask is, if "a lot of" OSU players had some sort of infection, why  were all the starters playing last week. 

Agreed. last night 4-8pm was…

Agreed. last night 4-8pm was very informative. 

If you are going for faux…

If you are going for faux outrage at least get your basic facts right. Baylor has 2 losses not three. They also have a top 5 win and 2 top 15 wins... Georgia's best win is #20 3-loss clemson. 

ESPN threw up a "top 40 wins" metric which I guess favors the SEC, but other than that Georgia played a B1G west schedule. 

Actually your bucs are the…

Actually your bucs are the perfect case in point to illustrate this fallacy. OSU has 2 losses to top 10 teams and generally destroyed 8-4 type P5 teams otherwise, including 11 MSU. 

If OSU had Georgia's schedule this year they would have been 12-0 entering Saturday, probably with a larger margin of victory. I also think they would have shown up vs Alabama. OSU doesn't deserve to be in the conversation, and neither does GA without a quality win.

In a normal year, sure,…

In a normal year, sure, Georgia beating Clemson and ending with 1 loss in the SEC championship gets them in. This year Clemson had 2 worse losses than to Georgia. Georgia was #1 on metrics and the assumption that when/if they did play a top 10 team, that they would dismantle them. While the committee doesn't want playing a conference championship to hurt, I'd take Oklahoma state or Baylor over GA given that both have 2 quality wins over top 20 opponents to GA's zero. There are 48 other teams out there who ran a harder gauntlet. I bet most of the top 10 would have one loss (or fewer) with Georgia's schedule. 

On this topic: did anyone…

On this topic: did anyone else hear Joel Klatt mention late in the 2nd half that Michigan is not undefeated only because of a very controversial play where "they rescinded a Michigan touchdown". I almost fell out of my chair. Joel went on to say something like Michigan is dismantling a good 10-2 Iowa team, and that Michigan is a very good team. FOX probably made him say it, but it was nice to hear him eat crow. 

Generally I'm on the same…

Generally I'm on the same train as you, however this year, due to increased complaints, the playoff committee is B1G heavy in ways it has previously been SEC weighted, and while it has good ACC presence, that doesn't necessarily hurt the B1G for once. 

 

 

Especially this year. Zero…

Especially this year. Zero wins vs a top 20 opponent, not unbeaten and not conference champions, and not a close loss. Hasn't that been our argument for keeping non P5 teams out of the playoffs in the past? 

posted my logic above but in…

posted my logic above but in an analytical world:

  • Michigan
  • Alabama
  • Cincinnati
  • Baylor
Georgia and Notre Dame both…

Georgia and Notre Dame both have equally poor arguments for making the playoff. It's easy to win against poor quality teams week after week. Using the committee's own arguments (for keeping non P-5 teams out of the playoffs in the past):

  • Neither was a conference champion.
  • Neither has a signature win or even a top 20 win.
  • Neither is undefeated.

Looking at them head to head, as a user posted above,

  • ND had #24 SOS. Georgia was at #49 SOS.
  • Georgia's loss was to a non-godly 11-1 Alabama team that just squeezed by a 6-6 team by 2 in quadruple overtime the week before. Georgia lost by 17.
  • Notre Dame's loss was to an unbeaten Cincy team, by 11 points. 
  • ND's best win is likely 8-4 Wisconsin at a neutral location, 41-13. 
  • Georgia's best win is likely 9-3 Clemson at a neutral location, 10-3

Picking the top three should be

  • Michigan
  • Alabama
  • Cincinnati

The fourth is harder because there is no clear 1 loss team that deserves it, ahead of 2 loss conference champion teams that do have a signature win vs a top 10 team. In a perfect world Baylor gets spot #4, they've lost by fewer points (12) than Georgia and comparable to ND. They also have two fairly dominate wins over top 15 teams, including #5 OSU. 

This is my hope also, that…

This is my hope also, that the spread increases tonight and early tomorrow based on massive public money. 

One of Michigan's crutches in the 2020 NCAA "See-No-Speak-No-Evil" era of heavy sports gambling is that Michigan grads usually have more disposable income than their competition. There is 0 chance that the NCAA is going to be able to figure out whether a ref has taken $80,000 in BTC through a burner phone. With the amount of money out there on games increasing every year, the NCAA taking no action against refs who appear to have thrown games, and with the FBI making an effort to ignore crime across the spectrum, it's becoming a more logic decision for everyone.

Don't bet for Michigan. Throw money for OSU to win.

Early in the season you can…

Early in the season you can count on whatever SEC team hasn't yet lost to be ranked 15 or below (Arkansas, Ole Miss). 

I would have a beef about ND…

I would have a beef about ND and Cincinnati but its going to be hilarious watching two bad but *top ten* teams whiff at each other next weekend. 

Why does the NCAA feel that…

Why does the NCAA feel that a basketball team playing at 11:30pm-midnight is equally as dialed in as one playing at 8:30pm-9pm? B1G teams have seen the wheels come off at the end of football/basketball games when players are normally in bed and I fear that's going to happen here as well.

They can't say it doesn't impact reaction times and decision making. The B1G should never play a west coast team after 9pm in basketball and 8pm in football. Is there really a wonder why UCLA has pulled the upsets in OT vs east coast teams recently? Is it really that the PAC-10 is that much better that the stats had predicted, or do college kids just not hit as many threes when their bodies are normally asleep.