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Conor Stalions admits Michigan knew all of Wisconsin Badgers' signals in 2021

Conor Stalions admitted that when Wisconsin played Michigan in 2021, the Wolverines knew all of the Badgers signals. UW lost 38-17 in their worst rushing performance of the season.
Lorin Cox|
University of Wisconsin Badgers football players celebrate a 4th down stop against Michigan during their game Saturday, October 2, 2021 in Madison, Wis. Michigan won the game 38-17.
University of Wisconsin Badgers football players celebrate a 4th down stop against Michigan during their game Saturday, October 2, 2021 in Madison, Wis. Michigan won the game 38-17. | Doug Raflik / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Wisconsin Badgers

The last time the Wisconsin Badgers played Michigan, the Wolverines had an extra advantage thanks to Conor Stalions.

The school's former defensive analyst was infamously involved in the school's sign-stealing scandal, and he admitted on Sunday that he knew what the Badgers were signaling during their game in 2021.

Stalions made the revelation in response to TCU head coach Sonny Dykes telling On3 that they knew Michigan was stealing their signs ahead of their 2022 College Football Playoff semifinal matchup.

Stalions downplayed the concerns raised by Dykes, insisting that their sign-stealing didn't always correlate with more wins. He insists that the bigger factors were still football fundamentals of blocking and tackling.

In that 2021 game against Wisconsin, the Wolverines held running back Braelon Allen to just 19 rushing yards, his lowest total of the season.

As a team, the Badgers amassed only 43 rushing yards on 32 carries, an average of just 1.3 yards per attempt. That was also their worst rushing performance of the season in the 38-17 loss.

It didn't help that quarterback Graham Mertz left that game with an injury, but it was an exceptional defensive performance by Michigan.

It's hard not to think the signal stealing was a major factor.

Perhaps when the two teams play again this season, it will be a little more level of a playing field for Luke Fickell and Sherrone Moore, who will be freshly removed from his self-imposed suspension for the sign-stealing scandal.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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