I’m reasonably confident that Michigan was the best college football team in the country this year. I think they deserve their title, as much as anyone can. But…it seems a little off that we just collectively decided that the cheating scandal from earlier this year just…doesn’t matter?

Here are some things:

• They probably could have won all those games without cheating. This was some Nixon-assed Watergate paranoia. They seem to have won the meaningful games without cheating.
• It doesn’t matter if “everyone does it,” because here’s a useful definition: cheating is an intentional violation of a public system of rules, for one’s benefit. (paraphrasing the late Bernard Gert there.)
• So, they’re cheaters.

I’m not losing sleep over this, but if you’re wondering why the average American student doesn’t take cheating/plagiarism seriously, why I deal with a litany of ChatGPT bullshit….look no further.