Report: College football trialing communication via technology during bowl season amid Michigan sign-stealing investigation

According to The Athletic, college teams will be able to communicate through technology during this upcoming bowl season. It was approved earlier in the summer and will now be implemented. For now, college football is test-running the idea before deciding whether or not to allow it full-time.

Radios in the helmets of quarterbacks should be the main use, as we have seen in the NFL for years now. This would be used to cut down cheating in college football, which has become a hot topic across the sport recently.

However, The Athletic reports the test run during bowl season has nothing to do with the alleged Michigan sign-stealing scandal. However, the situation has brought more pressure for the legalization of technology to be approved sooner rather than later.

“Multiple Big Ten sources told The Athletic that the Michigan allegations have fueled another push within the conference to enact these changes next season,” The Athletic said in their article.

“If communication technology is used in bowl games and the feedback is positive, it could be proposed and approved on a much larger scale next year. Whether that’s conference-by-conference or division-by-division would be decided at that time.”

With the technology coming to college football, play callers will be able to radio into the players on the field. It completely eliminates the need for coaches on the sideline to use hand signals. Some of the cover-ups on the sideline would be taken away as well.

This would be huge for the sport, especially in the upcoming College Football Playoff. While Bruce Feldman of The Athletic believes the scandal could affect the Wolverines’ potential spot in the CFP, they are still one of the best teams in the country. Potential opponents would likely be paranoid — and rightfully so — when facing them.

Eliminating the hand signs from the sideline would immediately erase any kind of fear of cheating from the Michigan sideline.

Once bowl season is complete and feedback has been accounted for, there will be decisions to make over continuing the allowance of technology. As the report states, it could vary from conference to conference. Hypothetically, the Big Ten could decide to go one route while the SEC goes another.

But the sign-stealing incident is likely to bring paranoia throughout the country, even if some coaches know it’s already being done. Just another piece added to what should already be an interesting bowl season.