The Ohio State football program was severely affected by the Connor Stalions cheating scandal. Stalions' illegal sign-stealing operation puts an asterisk on both the 2022 and 2023 games against the Buckeyes. We are still awaiting the penalties from the NCAA.
During Stalions' scheme, he was seen standing on Central Michigan's sideline before a game against Michigan State as he was attempting to steal signs from the Spartans. Jim McElwain feigned ignorance as to why he was on the sidelines, but the NCAA isn't buying it.
In fact, the NCAA has now decided that they will be punishing Central Michigan for allowing Stalions to even be on the sidelines. They have received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA stemming from that incident, meaning they will be facing penalties.
Ohio State football fans will be happy with Central Michigan being punished by the NCAA
McElwain decided to retire at the end of last season, and that's probably related to the fact that the Chippewas were going to face some sanctions. He is only 63, so he clearly didn't want to deal with the consequences of his actions. He's tight with Jim Harbaugh, so that's probably how Stalions got access to the sidelines.
It's going to be interesting to see what the penalties are for Central Michigan. They can't pretend that they didn't know the rules, because that is certainly against the NCAA's rules. We should find out what the penalties are for TTUN before the 2025 season starts.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have put that behind them. They know that their national championship doesn't come with any sort of asterisk, despite what one TTUN DE has to say. They won their title fair and square without needing to cheat during any portion of their season.
Ryan Day is certainly ready to get things rolling and beat their butts at the end of November.