Ohio State Can't Even Beat Michigan At Cheating - Reports 4 Minor Violations

Ohio State's football program continues to fall behind the Michigan Wolverines. 

The Buckeyes have not won a national championship since 2014 and reached the College Football Playoff just once in the last three seasons. Michigan just won the national championship in its third straight CFP appearance.

Michigan has topped Ohio State head-to-head three straight times, and two of those weren't even close.

And now Ohio State can't even beat Michigan at cheating. The pay-for-rings days of former coach Jim Tressel (2001-10) and compensation for other various awards and jerseys to players from a tattoo parlor owner are apparently long gone.

The Buckeyes have been turning themselves into the NCAA for several months now for recruiting violations, but they are so minor they shouldn't even qualify for Level III - the least serious. These are more like Level V. In this day and age of the Name, Image & Likeness Wild West, Ohio State's boosters should be ashamed of themselves.

But here they are. Read them and laugh, especially if you're a Tennessee football fan or an LSU basketball fan during the Wild Will Wade era. 

Ohio State's 4 NCAA Self-Reported ‘Violations’

-An Ohio State assistant coach called a player at another college after the player had posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal soon. But the coach called him before he actually entered the portal. Oh My God! … Wait until Elon Musk hears about this!

-Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline gave top high school sophomore receiver prospect Chris Henry Jr. of Withrow High in Cincinnati a picture from a photo shoot from Ohio State's recruiting "SummerFest" last July 28. Such photos cannot be given to prospects until they are high school juniors. … Goodness gracious! Is this some kind of remake of Sex, Lies And Photo Shoots?

-Two boosters shared a picture they took with a recruit before an Ohio State home game last September and shared it on social media. Everyone was wearing pants, but such contact with recruits can "be made only by authorized institutional staff members," says the NCAA's rule book. … OMG. Is the death penalty next for the Buckeyes?  

- An Ohio State staff member commented "Great news" on social media last month after Alabama All-American Caleb Downs said he would transfer to Ohio State. NCAA rules prohibit representatives of schools from commenting publicly about a recruit or transfer pledging to their school until after he actually signs. … The guy said, "Great news." Things haven't been this wild in Columbus, Ohio, since Alex's first time on "Family Ties."

And all that after Ohio State reported in early 2023 that it violated NCAA rules by using a blocking sled during a workout in February, which was a dead period for equipment. … I didn't know they still used blocking sleds. 

Is Ohio State trying to win the Goody-Goody national championship on the heels of Michigan reinventing itself as the College of Espionage?

Michigan doesn't bother with such minor, Level III infractions. A blocking sled? Taking a picture with a prospect? Premature tweeting? Please. Not at Michigan.

Jim Harbaugh left Michigan for the Chargers after winning the national title. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

After sharing intel with the NCAA, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti suspended then-Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh last year for the final three games of the 2023 regular season after Michigan immersed itself in an "organized, extensive, years-long, in-person, advance scouting scheme" spearheaded by analyst Connor Stalions "that was impermissible by NCAA rule."

And Michigan's Level 1 case is not over.

"The conference recognizes additional disciplinary actions may be necessary if it receives information concerning the scope and knowledge of, or participation in, the impermissible scheme," Petitti said.

Michigan's Violations Sound Like Level I

Is Ohio State just trying to befriend the NCAA, which everyone hates with passion now. Even when the dying organization just tries to do its job, it gets crucified. Everyone calls the NCAA weak, but when it tries to enforce its rules, it gets sued. And the NCAA has lost more cases in recent years than Hamilton Burger did to Perry Mason. 

Even Tennessee, one of the most cheating football programs in recent years, just benefited from a federal judge freezing the NCAA's enforcement powers over Name, Image & Likeness rule breakers. Sure, this is Orange-bleeding Rocky Top Law at its finest by a federal judge in East Tennessee backed by the state's Attorney General. But it could have lasting, nationwide impact.

The NIL Collectives Mafia has been open for business since 2021, and Ohio State is self-reporting a coach giving a recruit a picture? Meanwhile, the Tennessee collective Spyre Sports Group took care of a private jet to fly high school quarterback Nico Iamaleava from Los Angeles to Knoxville in 2022. Then Spyre paid him $8 million in an NIL deal so he would go to Tennessee. He just finished his freshman year as a backup last season. The original NCAA rules concerning NIL clearly stated players couldn't be compensated until after they enrolled.

But Tennessee apparently is going to get away with it as the NCAA is powerless unless it gets help from Congress.

"Turning upside down rules overwhelmingly supported by member schools will aggravate an already chaotic college environment," the NCAA said Friday after the Rocky Top ruling. "The NCAA fully supports athletics making money from NIL and is making changes to deliver more benefits to athletes. But an endless patchwork of state laws and court opinions make clear that partnering with Congress is necessary to provide stability for the future of all college athletes."

Those comments largely fell on deaf ears. But at least the NCAA has Ohio State as the ultimate teacher's pet.

Or maybe Ohio State is leaving nothing to chance in its quest for the national championship in the 2024 season. Watching Michigan win its first national title since the 1997 season must have been just too painful.

Is Ohio State Just Dotting All The I's? 

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has been the portal national champion so far this off-season. In addition to Caleb Downs, he coaxed top-ranked quarterback signee Julian Sayin away from Alabama along with Alabama starting center Seth McLaughlin. Day must really like what retired Alabama coach Nick Saban did in Tuscaloosa. He even just hired his director of personnel operations - high school recruiting ace Sam Petitto, who previously worked at Georgia and in Louisiana. Day added Ole Miss top running back Quinshon Judkins and Kansas State starting quarterback Will Howard as well.

Oh, and Day also hired somebody overqualified, which is always good. Chip Kelly left his head coaching job at UCLA to be Day's offensive coordinator. Day is really going for broke as he ignored that management credo - don't hire your replacement.

And all the while, Ohio State has been self-reporting the most innocent of violations like it is trying out for the priesthood. Could that be an insurance payment? 

The NCAA may not have any power soon, but Ohio State may be making sure it remains friends to the end. That and perhaps feeding the NCAA as much as it can towards the case against Michigan's Spygate. 

(Agree? Disagree? Send your comments via email to glenn.guilbeau@outkick.com or on X @SportBeatTweet.)