Report: TCU alerted to Michigan sign-stealing before CFP semifinal, crafted dummy signals

Amid the sign-stealing scandal at Michigan, there have only been two teams to beat the Wolverines over the past two seasons. Both were in the College Football Playoff, with Georgia and TCU advancing to the national championship game. This led people to wonder if the Big Ten Champions had not covered all of their bases.

Turns out, at least from the TCU side, they were just ahead of the game. According to a report from Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger, Sonny Dykes‘ staff knew about Michigan stealing signs and changed things up ahead of the Fiesta Bowl.

“TCU coaches learned from other staffs about Michigan’s ‘elaborate’ sign-stealing before the CFP semifinal,” Dellenger said in a tweet. “TCU changed signs but used ‘dummy’ (old) signs to trick the Wolverines, coaches tell @YahooSports. TCU players were told to ignore the dummy signs.”

So exactly how did TCU find out about Michigan’s plan to steal signals? The two had never played each other and the coaching staffs did not have any kind of real connection with one another.

Other Big Ten teams were quick to notify the Horned Frogs once the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups were announced. Dellenger reports TCU received phone calls from other coaching staffs — including Ohio State — around the country, warning them of what will occur.

“Not long after the CFP unveiled the 2022 semifinal matchups — Georgia vs. Ohio State and TCU vs. Michigan — the Horned Frogs staff began receiving phone calls from coaches across the country about what was a well-known fact in the Big Ten coaching community: that Michigan had an elaborate sign-stealing system,” Dellenger said.

TCU went into the game prepared and came out on top with a 51-45 win, a historic moment for their program. Following the game, a TCU staffer went back to rewatch the game, following the moves of Connor Stalions, only to find he got multiple calls wrong throughout the game.

“The guy (Stalions) was wrong a couple of times,” a TCU staff member told Dellenger. “We rewatched the TV version of the game. You can see him standing next to the defensive coordinator. He tells something to the coordinator and he points in the air to mean pass. You can see the playsheet he’s holding with our hand signs on them.”

The College Football Playoff was announced on Dec. 4, while the Michigan-TCU game took place on New Year’s Eve. This gave Dykes’ staff plenty of time to prepare. Mix that in with a veteran unit in Fort Worth and they were able to deceive Michigan.