LOS ANGELES — The question couldn’t have come at a more awkward time. For most of Sunday’s Rose Bowl press conference, Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh slogged through the same responses they’ve given regarding their team’s College Football Playoff semifinal game.
Then came a doozy.
Moments before the two head coach shook hands, Nick Saban was asked the question that has dominated this week’s Rose Bowl matchup between Alabama and Michigan.
“Are you concerned with the sign-stealing stuff at Michigan, and what has Alabama done to maybe prevent some of that.”
Harbaugh’s eyes darted toward the reporter before a stern look came over his face. Meanwhile, Saban gave his response in awkward proximity to his opposition.
“We’re really not concerned about that,” Saban sad. “Integrity in the game, I think, is really, really important. Our team has had every opportunity to prepare for this game just like we have every other game. And I think especially when you’re a no-huddle team, you’ve got to adapt and adjust how you communicate with the quarterback.
“Hopefully one day we’ll get to the NFL system where you just talk to the guy in his helmet. I think that’d be a lot better. But now we just have to adjust to how we communicate with the quarterback and to change it up and try to not put our players at a disadvantage in any way.”
Last month, Michigan analyst Conner Stalions resigned after being suspended by the school amidst a sign-stealing scandal. According to reports, Stallions purchased tickets for 35 games involving future Michigan opponents over multiple seasons in an attempt to steal their signs.
Harbaugh has denied directing any off-campus scouting, stating he has had no prior knowledge of it. The head coach was suspended by the Big Ten for three for the final three games of the regular season for a violation of the league's sportsmanship policy.
During this month’s bowl prep Alabama has taken extra precautions to guard against the potential hacking of practice footage as players have not been able to watch clips from their personal iPads.
Prior to the sign-stealing scandal, Michigan fired former co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss in January following allegations that he inappropriately accessed computer accounts of others while at the school. In October, it was widely reported that the FBI was involved in the investigation of alleged computer-access crimes concerning Weis and Michigan. Weiss, who spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Michigan, has not been charged with a crime.
While Alabama’s change in policy caused the team to switch up its practice-viewing routine, players maintained that the switch wasn’t too much of a distraction.
"Just taking the extra precaution to make sure we're all good," Alabama offensive lineman J.C. Latham said last week. "We still watch film as a group together. We do it before we do anything we want to do. Like prioritize before we go out and get some food or whatever, we make sure we get some film in. It's just a different way to watch film. It's not like we can't watch it at all."
Talk of precautions for sign-stealing and the protection of practice footage will finally take a backseat Monday as No. 4 Alabama faces No. 1 Michigan at 4 p.m. CT inside the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. The game will serve as one of two semifinals for the College Football Playoff with the winner advancing to play either No. 2 Washington or No. 3 Texas in the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Houston.
