Tenn is still thinking about that game, LOL
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/spor...a-michigan-sign-stealing-scandal/85964677007/
Adam Sparks
Knoxville News Sentinel
Sept 4, 2025
"Oh my gosh. (That is) one of the dozens of conspiracies that are out there," Stalions said on "Bunch Formation," a podcast released on Sept. 4. "I've never met anyone at South Carolina. ... There was no trying to screw over Tennessee."
Stalions had talked about his background and his sign-stealing in other interviews, a practice that essentially banned him from working in college football and put Michigan football on probation. He even talked about it in a Netflix documentary about his extensive sign-stealing scheme, which was released in 2024.
But Stalions had not previously addressed his alleged involvement in specific games. Many Tennessee fans believed that Stalions' sign-stealing aided the Gamecocks in a 63-38 upset, which knocked the Vols out of the 2022 College Football Playoff and quarterback Hendon Hooker out of the Heisman Trophy race.
"I've never watched any Tennessee film to try to decipher signals," Stalions said. "I do know they're up-tempo, and I'm not going to speculate whether they steal signals or not. I don't know much about Tennessee other than the fact that they're very wide splits, up-tempo team, snapping the ball within eight seconds of the previous play."
There are many theories about which games were impacted by Stalions' sign-stealing, but most of them involve Big Ten teams.
The theory that Stalions helped South Carolina beat Tennessee points to the potential that Michigan could've faced the Vols and their No. 1 ranked offense in the playoff that season unless they were knocked out of the playoff hunt.
The fact that South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White worked under Harbaugh at Stanford stirred up suspicion among fans. But Stalions said if he had Tennessee's signals, he would've kept them for Michigan to use.
"Let's us just say that if I had everything on a team. Why would I not want to play them in the playoffs?" Stalions said. "If I had everything on Tennessee ... In theory, it could be Tennessee or anyone, if I had the team's signals and felt confident that it's this competitive advantage that's going to cause an advantage like in that South Carolina game, why would I want another team to do it rather than us?"
Stalions said he only had dealings with an SEC team once, and that was in advance of Michigan's game against Alabama in the Citrus Bowl to cap the 2019 season. He said he swapped intel with an SEC team that was set to play a Big Ten team in another bowl. In the exchange, Stalions got Alabama's signals, and the other SEC team got their Big Ten opponent's signals.
Alabama beat Michigan 35-16 in that Citrus Bowl. Stalions did not identify the SEC team he traded intel with.
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/spor...a-michigan-sign-stealing-scandal/85964677007/
Sign-stealer Connor Stalions speaks out on Tennessee upset loss to South Carolina in 2022
Adam SparksKnoxville News Sentinel
Sept 4, 2025
- Connor Stalions denied helping South Carolina upset Tennessee in 2022, calling it a fan conspiracy theory.
- Stalions arranged in-person scouting for at least one 2022 Tennessee game. The Vols were a potential playoff opponent for Michigan.
- He argued that if he had Tennessee's signals, he would have saved them for Michigan to use in a potential playoff matchup.
"Oh my gosh. (That is) one of the dozens of conspiracies that are out there," Stalions said on "Bunch Formation," a podcast released on Sept. 4. "I've never met anyone at South Carolina. ... There was no trying to screw over Tennessee."
Stalions had talked about his background and his sign-stealing in other interviews, a practice that essentially banned him from working in college football and put Michigan football on probation. He even talked about it in a Netflix documentary about his extensive sign-stealing scheme, which was released in 2024.
But Stalions had not previously addressed his alleged involvement in specific games. Many Tennessee fans believed that Stalions' sign-stealing aided the Gamecocks in a 63-38 upset, which knocked the Vols out of the 2022 College Football Playoff and quarterback Hendon Hooker out of the Heisman Trophy race.
"I've never watched any Tennessee film to try to decipher signals," Stalions said. "I do know they're up-tempo, and I'm not going to speculate whether they steal signals or not. I don't know much about Tennessee other than the fact that they're very wide splits, up-tempo team, snapping the ball within eight seconds of the previous play."
Connor Stalions says he stole signs for Michigan not South Carolina
On Aug. 15, the NCAA Committee on Infractions released findings and penalties in the Michigan sign-stealing case. It included four years of probation for the Wolverines' football program, an eight-year show-cause order for Stalions, a former staff member, and a 10-year show-cause for head coach Jim Harbaugh among other sanctions.There are many theories about which games were impacted by Stalions' sign-stealing, but most of them involve Big Ten teams.
The theory that Stalions helped South Carolina beat Tennessee points to the potential that Michigan could've faced the Vols and their No. 1 ranked offense in the playoff that season unless they were knocked out of the playoff hunt.
The fact that South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White worked under Harbaugh at Stanford stirred up suspicion among fans. But Stalions said if he had Tennessee's signals, he would've kept them for Michigan to use.
"Let's us just say that if I had everything on a team. Why would I not want to play them in the playoffs?" Stalions said. "If I had everything on Tennessee ... In theory, it could be Tennessee or anyone, if I had the team's signals and felt confident that it's this competitive advantage that's going to cause an advantage like in that South Carolina game, why would I want another team to do it rather than us?"
Stalions said he only had dealings with an SEC team once, and that was in advance of Michigan's game against Alabama in the Citrus Bowl to cap the 2019 season. He said he swapped intel with an SEC team that was set to play a Big Ten team in another bowl. In the exchange, Stalions got Alabama's signals, and the other SEC team got their Big Ten opponent's signals.
Alabama beat Michigan 35-16 in that Citrus Bowl. Stalions did not identify the SEC team he traded intel with.
