Gus Johnson didn’t hesitate to drop a Connor Stallions reference in the moments before Michigan secured a rivalry win over Ohio State on Saturday.

As Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore celebrated with players and waved to the crowd with just over 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Johnson, who called the game for Fox, called the first-year head coach’s name and then added, “We didn’t cheat this time.”

While Johnson did not mention the Stallions by name, he was seemingly referring to the sign-stealing scandal that overshadowed the Michigan program during their run to the national championship last season.

Stalions, a former Michigan employee, was suspended from the program and ultimately resigned in November 2023 after being accused of orchestrating the personal scheme.

At the time, Moore served as former head coach Jim Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach and became the Wolverines’ interim head coach for their final three games of the regular season — including a victory over the Buckeyes — when Harbaugh was suspended three games as a result of the sign theft investigation.

When Harbaugh left to become the Chargers’ head coach in the offseason, Michigan hired Moore to serve as his replacement, with the effects of the scandal still lingering reemerged as defensive coordinator for Mumford High School in Detroit.

Michigan defeated the No. 2 Buckeyes for its fourth straight win in the series, though the afternoon took a scary turn when a fight broke out after the Wolverines tried to plant a flag on the Ohio Stadium field — one of four flag-related fights which occurred last Saturday.

Police officers try to break up the fight seemed pepper spray playerswhile Ohio State head coach Ryan Day defended his “proud guys” who wouldn’t let Michigan players plant a flag.

“I don’t know all the details about it, but I know these guys want to put a flag on our field and our guys weren’t going to let that happen,” Day told reporters. “I’ll find out exactly what happened, but this is our area. We were really embarrassed by the fact that we lost the game, but there are some proud guys in this team who weren’t just going to let that happen.”

The Wolverines, who used a one-yard touchdown run by Kalel Mullings and two field goals to seal the run, improved to 7-5, while the Buckeyes, having missed out on a chance to play in the Big Ten championship, will await their fate for the College Football Playoff.