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CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan addresses impact of Michigan’s sign-stealing investigation
By Paul Harvey
Published:
CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan was live on ESPN Tuesday night with the first unveiling of the 2023 College Football Playoff rankings of the season. Coming out of Week 9, Ohio State landed the No. 1 overall spot while Georgia, Michigan and Florida State rounded out the top 4.
When it comes to the Wolverines, Corrigan was asked directly about the ongoing sign-stealing investigation by ESPN’s Rece Davis. Corrigan’s response was straightforward, labeling the investigation an NCAA issue and one that is not currently an issue related to the CFP.
“We really view it as an NCAA issue. It’s not a CFP issue,” said Corrigan. “At this point in time, as we’re looking at this, we want to make sure we get not only the top 4 teams but the top 25 teams right.”
During the ensuing teleconference, Corrigan reiterated the committee has been impressed by the dominance of the Wolverines.
“Michigan was ranked 3. The committee was impressed with how they dominated their opponents,” Corrigan explained.
During the teleconference, Corrigan and CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock were pressed if the committee could be sure Michigan has been dominant without the help of illegally stolen signs. Hancock clarified everything at this point is related to allegations, ones that the NCAA is currently investigating.
“Michigan’s played well all season, the fact of the matter is no one knows what happened,” said Hancock. “The NCAA is dealing right now with allegations only. The committee bases judgments on what has happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team.”
Later in the call, it was asked why the committee did not use the sign-stealing investigation in the evaluation of Michigan. Hancock chimed in once again with a reminder that allegations are currently “not fact” as related to the investigation.
“You have to remember that these are allegations at this point and not fact, and so there’s no substantive evidence that it might have affected the game,” Hancock explained. “All this committee judges is what has happened in the games.”
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.