A few years ago, the Ohio State football program was vindicated when Michigan was found to have engaged in an illegal sign-stealing and advanced scouting operation. Of course, the NCAA hardly punished them for it, deciding not to vacate wins despite evidence supporting that punishment.
TTUN claimed that they didn't know anything about the scandal until September of 2023, when it was reported that they were under investigation. They claimed innocence in the matter, as well. Every step of the way, TTUN fought investigators and made sure it was harder for them to reach the truth.
Chris Partridge was a coach who was fired for allegedly not cooperating with the investigation. He has filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming his firing was unlawful. Some filings he put into that lawsuit claim that TTUN knew about the scandal well before it was reported, and the president covered it up.
Lawsuit alleges TTUN covered up sign-stealing scandal longer than reported
Partridge alleges that Michigan president Santa Ono found out about the cheating operation when investigators cracked into former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss' computer. They were looking into him for alleged sex crimes, and they found evidence of this scandal, as well.
In the lawsuit, Partridge alleges that Ono told everyone not to report this to the NCAA or any investigators. According to Partridge, Ono wanted everyone involved to cover up the truth for as long as possible, knowing the damage it would do to the football program. This happened before the 2023 season.
As everyone knows, TTUN won the national title in 2023. They were clearly using their illegally obtained scouting material for longer than previously thought, including in games against the Buckeyes. This further shows how deeply corrupt that institution is.
There is a possibility that this scandal was going on for at least two or three years before it was revealed to the public. The Ohio State Buckeyes lost to TTUN in both 2021 and 2022. There is a great chance that TTUN was cheating during those games, based on what Partridge alleges.
Ohio State football fans should demand accountability from TTUN
The NCAA gave TTUN just a slap on the wrist. If what Partridge alleges is true, it's pretty clear there is a lack of institutional control. That should be grounds for severe punishments for the football program and the university at large, especially if the president is in on it.
The Buckeyes were perhaps the biggest victims in the cheating scandal. Had they won both games in 2021 and 2022, they would have made the CFP and been a higher seed in those seasons, respectively. Ohio State wouldn't have had to play Georgia in 2022, and that could have given them a shot to win a national title.
Warde Manuel might be ousted because of this whole issue. While the Buckeyes have some issues of their own, it's pretty clear they pale in comparison to what Michigan has going on in Ann Arbor. Ohio State fans can take some solace in that fact.
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