Charles Woodson on 'cheaters' cries from Michigan haters: 'Might as well go win it all'
Michigan Wolverines football may have committed a minor infraction with former low-level analyst Connor Stalions being accused of breaking NCAA bylaw 11.6.1 pertaining to off-campus scouting. While the NCAA has said advanced in-person scouting provides a minimal competitive advantage, adversaries have labeled the Wolverines as “cheaters,” a word that was trending on social media site ‘X’ after they beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Michigan will take on Washington in the national title game Monday night, and former U-M Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson said on the Rich Eisen Show that there’s only one thing left to do.
“If people are going to call us cheaters, then we might as well go win it all,” Woodson told Eisen, also a Michigan alum.
“You looked at the video with Coach Harbaugh talking about [junior signal-caller] J.J. McCarthy and trying to compare him to [former Michigan and NFL quarterback] Tom Brady. Here’s the one thing I know about Tom Brady, is that every time anybody mentions Tom Brady, they call him a seven-time Super Bowl champion. Nobody ever says anything about all the talk about cheating, that the New England Patriots were supposed to have done. They just say he’s a seven-time Super Bowl champion.
“So, for our guys, if they’re going to call you cheaters, you might as well win it — and then guess what, forever they have to call you a national champion. So, go get it done.”
Stalions, of course, resigned Nov. 3 after being suspended without pay after he was revealed as the center of the investigation. Michigan has beaten three top-10 teams since his resignation, including two without head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was suspended by the Big Ten in unprecedented fashion despite there being no proof that he was connected to the scouting allegations. The talk surrounding the potential minor violations has died down, with detractors not being able to use any post-Stalions losses as proof that he was a major reason why Michigan was winning.
‘Team 144’ can become best Michigan team ever
The Wolverines are 14-0, already with the most wins by any Michigan team in history. Woodson was a key figure on the 1997 team that won the national championship with a 12-0 season capped off by a Rose Bowl victory over No. 8 Washington State. But there was no Big Ten championship or College Football Playoff back then. Additionally, while U-M was named the national champion by the Associated Press, which is widely considered the most prominent poll, the coaches tabbed Nebraska No. 1.
“Well, there’s one game left. If they go on and win this game, they’re the greatest team in Michigan history,” Woodson said. “Hands down. Hands down. And one of the reasons is because we didn’t get a chance to play in the playoff and play 1 versus 2 or whatever that is. We went out and played in the Rose Bowl, played Washington State, and we’ll always have that kind of ‘co-champ’ connected with us as national champions.
“This would be a team that went through the gauntlet. This would be a team that went through the playoff. This is a team that went and beat the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl. And if they can get it done against Washington, I’ll give it up. They’d be the greatest team in Michigan history.”
One of Woodson’s former teammates, All-American left tackle Jon Jansen, spoke to the Michigan team last week and said he’s tired of talking about the 1997 team “because it means something has happened since then,” according to graduate center Drake Nugent. Woodson concluded his segment with Eisen by telling the Wolverines to “go get it, fellas!”
