- 13-0 B1G Champion Michigan
- 13-0 SEC Champion Georgia
- 13-0 ACC Champion Florida State
- 12-1 P12 Champion Oregon
- 12-1 B12 Champion Texas
- 12-1 P12CG participant Washington
- 11-1 non-Champion Ohio State
- 11-2 SECCG participant Alabama
Seeing it posted like this is really helpful to better feel/understand your point. Honestly, it's one thing to say an undefeated team vs a 1 loss team and think there's no comparison, but teams often stumble randomly and don't bring their best game and if a team blatantly crossed a rule line, it could have helped them avoid that one stumbling block and is that team much more worthy that another conference champ that had one stumbled Saturday? Definitely understand that perspective.
Finally, I'm frankly shocked by the response of the institution. If I were Ono, I'd stay as far away from this as possible. By sticking his head in, he is taking a substantial risk that he is going to end up going down with this thing. Why? Ono's job isn't to win football games. His job is to run a world-class University. If this were my school, I'd feel like the alums that @ELA talked about. I'd be embarrassed. I want my school to win football games but not at the expense of my degree. I wouldn't want my school to cheat to do it.
Rain man reference was hilarious. Also, i actually get your point about the video of the coaches on the sideline and I think that's where I'm not forming a firm opinion until more comes out. The optimistic side of me hopes the coaches all thought Stallions was doing similar work like what OSU and Rutgers prepared for Purdue and he was just "rain man" compared to everyone else, yet the pessimistic side of me considers that all the coaches knew and they collectively decided it was a stupid and dated rule and they said let's roll the dice. Somewhere in the middle and anything any distance from the forward is bad.
Lastly, this last paragraph i quoted above is what makes me wonder the most. I completely agree with that take of the responsibility of Ono and the position the University should take if there's at least reasonably solid proof of what went on.. OR they're stupid.. So it makes me wonder is Harbaugh and staff just trying to cover what they can to save their jobs and Ono is making a bad judgment call or stupid.. OR after sitting through meetings with Big10/NCAA do they know far more than the media and "sources" and there's more to the story or the picture isn't being painted correctly.
Listen, I think anyone that puts a vested interest in a team, university, company, etc hopes for the latter. No one with integrity wants to root for cheaters, dirtbags or people so clueless they don't know right from wrong.. so I'm hoping it's the latter although the forward could also be very possible and I'll be pissed that they brought shame to the University.