Sources: TCU utilized “dummy signals” to trick the Wolverines, knowing ahead of time of Michigan’s plan to steal signs before the CFP game.
Before kickoff, TCU coaches made numerous play-call signal changes after learning about Michigan’s complex sign-stealing technique. But Sonny Dykes, the head coach, and the Horned Frogs staff had bigger plans than simply switching signals.
To fool the UM staff, they blended in new play-call signs with the old ones, employing a technique that a TCU staff member called “dummy signals.”
The playcalls used as sham signals had been modified in the past. The players were instructed to use the new signals to call the original play and to disregard the dummy signals.
One TCU coach admitted, “We freeze a play at the snap.” “We instructed players to run the first play they played, but we would call a play and then signal over another play with an outdated signal.”
In that Fiesta Bowl semifinal match, TCU, a 7.5-point underdog, shocked a large portion of the college football world by defeating Michigan 51-45. The win sent Dykes’ team into the national championship game versus Georgia.
The Horned Frogs lost the match by a score of 65-7, but the semifinal win is still remembered as one of the most amazing upsets in collegiate Football Playoff history. It also adds another twist to what has become the collegiate game’s equivalent of Deflategate.
After one week, most people are familiar with the plot: Connor Stallions, a now-suspended Michigan analyst, bought tickets to over 40 college football games with the intention of recording opponents’ signals in what has been shown to be a complex, three-year plot that has shocked the sport.
The NCAA is looking into the program for breaking the association’s regulations regarding in-person scouting, according to information that was initially released by Yahoo Sports last Thursday.
As the investigation continues, numerous Michigan football staff members have already been questioned by NCAA investigators, according to an Associated Press story published on Thursday.
There is no proof that the TCU Stallions bought tickets to a home game the previous season, but there were plenty of chances to catch the Horned Frogs on the road or at the Big 12 championship game versus Kansas State.
As one TCU coach put it, “literally everybody i talked to knew.” “They would say, ‘You better change them, because they are going to control everything, just so you comprehend, they steal your signals.”
The game plan that Dykes and his staff devised tricked coach Jim Harbaugh and signaler Stallions, at least partially, by using the phony signals. TCU used drives of 10 plays fro 83 yards then 12 plays for 76 yards to score scores in the first half.
There seems to be a fresh story of a team overcoming Michigan’s purported sign-stealing scheme every few days.
Despite the fact that TCU football may have the most juicy one of all, it was a factor in their Fiesta Bowl matchup in the 2022 University Football Playoff.
Similar to numerous other Big Ten programs, the Horned Frogs discovered the Wolverines’ purportedly dishonest strategies and devised a creative plan to offset any unfair edge their rivals may have amassed.
It has been stated that they attempted to disorient Michigan football by combining new and old play-call signals. The phrase “dummy signals” was employed.
A TCU coach who wished to remain unnamed told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, “Occasionally we freeze something before the snap.”
“We instructed players to proceed with the original play, but we would call a play and then signal in another move with an outdated signal.”
Shenanigans can sometimes only be countered with more shenanigans. In order to guarantee that their unlikely 2022–23 season would be decided on the field and not by alleged wrongdoings that may have occurred weeks earlier this New Year’s Eve matchup, head coach Sonny Dykes as well as the Horned Frogs moved above and beyond.