Longballs Dong…

December 28th, 2023 at 2:04 PM ^

My first thought is that the "film" they are watching is actually of the Michigan sidelines and they don't want anyone else to know they also try to steal signs.  Players might carelessly watch that film in a hotel lobby or around friends who then blab to the media about what they saw.  I think Saban doesn't want the same stupid drama we're dealing with but he's doing the same/similar things.  He probably has that same file that was sent to the Purdue and TCU and that would be a bad look for them.

Joined: 04/28/2011

MGoPoints: 2550

Jaxpo

December 28th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^

Might as well get used to it. The SEC err...ESPN announcers will be going on and on about this every time Michigan makes Alabama look bad.

Joined: 08/17/2014

MGoPoints: 2429

BoFlex

December 28th, 2023 at 1:51 PM ^

The only “scoop” I have regarding SignGate is that my co-worker’s son is verifiable a walk-on at Ohio State for the last 3 years - He said that previously his son was allowed to bring a tablet home to study practice film, but starting this past offseason the coaches announced to the team that film is only allowed to be viewed on secure campus WiFi. So when he brings the tablet home or to his apartment now, it can’t access the practice film anymore.

The coaches never gave the players any reason for the change, but the rumor preseason in the locker room was that the coaches were told that someone outside the program accessed the drive of practice film.

Joined: 05/30/2011

MGoPoints: 5284

NotAMichiganSpy

December 28th, 2023 at 2:32 PM ^

This comment makes the OP story make sense. Obviously, Ryan Day has already called Saban to give him any tips and signs of ours that he has. They called TCU last season. Ryan Day believes we accessed one of their tablets and he told Saban. Saban enacted the same safety precautions. Ryan Day is still a bitch.

 

Joined: 10/19/2023

MGoPoints: 1494

Ernis

December 28th, 2023 at 3:24 PM ^

The only way this makes sense, including the OP, is to cover for OSU, Bama, etc.'s own potential rule-skirting.

Any endpoints, whether personally or institutionally owned, can be forced to use a VPN or remote desktop from any access point to control user access to shared files over a secure protocol, aka the concern about an unsecured shared drive being accessed sans authorization would be addressed.

The security gained by preventing players from viewing game footage at remote locations is to prevent potential snooping (i.e. peering over the shoulder or picking up their tablet when they set it down) by other people outside the program with direct physical access to the device. Which would only be a concern if the players were routinely looking at things the NCAA or others could find issue with.

Likely, these programs are doing this sort of thing to cover their tracks in the wake of M getting busted for The Stalions Efect, which we all know is pervasive in CFB. Once the story broke in October, every major program started covering their tracks for the same kinds of operations they had going, and OSU being in on the scoop before it went public, it makes sense they'd have a head start.

Joined: 09/23/2008

MGoPoints: 11479

KBLOW

December 28th, 2023 at 1:59 PM ^

Why would Michigan want to hack into these Ipads to see their own game footage? Just stupid.

If anything they don't want any other PIs finding out Alabama has video of Michigan's practices and hours of "fan recorded" smartphone video of our sidelines.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 22692

Denard In Space

December 28th, 2023 at 2:07 PM ^

None of this matters or is important. Even if we did hack to get practice footage, who cares. This is a game where empty suits have made billions of dollars off of post-adolescents giving each other brain damage, without even compensating the kids with a single percentage point of the revenue. It's an entire economy of exploitation. Both Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban's great grandchildren will be wealthy, not to mention the army of anonymous cretins who make $100k salaries for literally doing nothing but participating in a single conference call about a bowl game. For anyone to sit there and imply "they watched us practice so they're immoral" while puffing on cigars made of human flesh is an absurdity, and I won't take it seriously or give it dignity. 

Joined: 05/24/2018

MGoPoints: 13486

djmagic

December 28th, 2023 at 2:13 PM ^

if they want to act like idiots in furtherance of making Michigan look bad in the media/public eye, and it results in them perhaps being less prepared than they might otherwise be, I'm good with it.

but this just makes them sound like fucking idjits.

Joined: 09/06/2010

MGoPoints: 2348

Mr. Elbel

December 28th, 2023 at 2:17 PM ^

From an IT perspective..... this is pretty dumb. I guess Connor Stallions, off the payroll of Michigan, could camp out at their dorms and try to individually hack into each tablet from a creeper van outside. But also, dude isn't a technological genius or anything, if anything he's a glorified travel agent. They expect him to just do this on his own or something? Or are they just inventing ways for Michigan to cheat now and trying to prevent it?

All of it is fine by me! Enjoy wasting bowl prep time solving problems that don't exist. We'll be busy......actually watching the film.

Joined: 03/02/2014

MGoPoints: 21402

Perkis-Size Me

December 28th, 2023 at 2:19 PM ^

I always pictured Nick Saban's Alabama teams as having a "We don't care who you are, what you do, or how you got here. We don't care if you stole signs. We're going to steamroll you into submission because we're better than you. We're bigger, faster, stronger, and we know it, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it" kind of mindset. 

I guess I was mistaken.....

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 106010

kwallace23

December 28th, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^

So Bama is now playing a player who was just arrested (with no media scrutiny about it of course) AND making fun of the sign stealing in a way that makes no sense AND hiring a former Michigan coach. Any of those things done by Harbaugh the media would have gone nuts. What’s the solution to this improper treatment? Why does the whole world hate UM when you look at what Bama has done just the past two weeks?

Joined: 03/20/2016

MGoPoints: 313

carolina blue

December 28th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^

This makes no sense to me at all?  What would these tablets have to do with sign stealing?  Did stallions pre-scout Bama by having dudes take iPhone footage of their tablets?  I mean…it makes no sense. 

Joined: 02/12/2014

MGoPoints: 30280

Hensons Mobile…

December 28th, 2023 at 2:51 PM ^

This makes no sense. Frankly, I'm not sure the players know what they're talking about.

https://247sports.com/college/alabama/Article/alabama-changed-film-preparation-protocol-for-michigan-game-players-say-224067474/

Booker said he wasn’t sure if Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal was the reason for the change, but that the players were told they’d be watching film in a new location. ...

[Bond said] “We were able to watch film as a team, but personally, we can’t watch film, for some reason, like Michigan stealing signs.”

I think the players don't know the reason for this and were just filling in the gaps themselves, probably with nonsense about sign stealing insinuated by the coaching staff.

This isn't about what Stalions did, obviously. So what is it about? It would seem that Alabama is concerned that Michigan hacking into (or otherwise stealing info off of) the iPads. I mean, never say never, I guess. Not sure where that belief comes from. Possibly just straight up paranoia, possibly as Brian likes to say, every accusation is an admission, or possibly some kind of tip from Helow, which I'm sure some people would love to speculate.

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