You can probably imagine that the #1 topic of conversation in Madison with any member of the OSU, Wisky, or national media has absolutely nothing to do with tonight's game. A lot of us read the boards (11W, DTE, Huddle, Bucknuts) to take temperatures and get story ideas. We're very aware of the info making the rounds yesterday. It's interesting since it matches we've have been told on background. I think any critical, objective member of the OSU and TTUN fanbases should be considering:

• The FBI has not been spending the past 8 months in Ann Arbor because they care about sign stealing. The UM police chief is on the record acknowledging the FBI's role in the investigation. The FBI doesn't investigate play stealing or "low-level staffer" Venmo transactions. The FBI's involvement is indisputable, and any media spin that minimizes this primary fact is an attempt at damage control or spin.
• Everyone on the beat has been aware of the unauthorized practice footage allegation for some time. The OSU staff is much more upset about the practice footage than the sign stealing. Both are cheating but the practice footage literally gave TTUN the exact play script for the game(s). 
• The UM police chief saying the Weiss and sign stealing investigations are "unrelated" is semantics. The Weiss investigation brought other irregularities to the surface. The on the record statement from UM police is "the Weiss investigation is 'not related to the sign-stealing allegation in any way.'" True. The investigation into Weiss (led by the FBI) is not related to the sign-stealing allegation (led by the NCAA) in any way. However, what we've been told is that the source material for both investigations is the same (the Weiss computer).
• I think that where the current "reporting" goes a little sideways is with the CSAM allegations. I think people are inferring this means young kids. It doesn't. Legally, CSAM is a visually explicit material of a minor (under 18). Yes, we've heard that there is/was a CSAM investigation. There has not been an arrest. What we have heard is that it is very difficult to prosecute a CSAM case involving older teens because it's pretty much impossible to prove the age of an older teen in a court if you can't ID the individual. TTUN canned Weiss for a reason. We was walked out of the building. They didn't fire Weiss because he was stealing signals. The UM police didn't call in the FBI because Weiss he was browsing porn. This is a criminal investigation and the TTUN "media" attempts to "nothing to see here" the story are pathetic.
• Melissa Overton is the Deputy Chief of the UM Police Department. She is on record confirming the FBI's involvement in the case. She is on record that the FBI investigation into Weiss is "extensive, ongoing and is of the utmost priority" and covers "multiple victims in multiple states." When it comes to Weiss, the VICTIMS here are not the OSU coaches or players. This is a much bigger criminal matter than cheating or integrity of the game or even gambling irregularities.
• It's kind of weird that the TTUN beat is so in Harbaugh's pocket on this story but it also kind of makes sense. There are only a few actually journalists on their beat. Austin Meek of The Athletic is a real journalist. I would trust his coverage (which, BTW, has covered the FBI and Weiss angle). Sam Webb is an acolyte. Chris Balas is home team media. They won't bite the hand that feeds them. There are real, actual journalists covering this story in Michigan. Read Austin Meek and Nick Baumgardner at The Athletic. Read Tony Garcia at the Detroit Free Press. Anyone who quotes Webb or Balas as a source is as much of a gullible buffoon as those clowns. They are pure fan boy mouthpieces for Harbaugh.
• Speaking of mouthpieces for Harbaugh, the Michael Rosenberg story intended to mitigate Harbaugh's culpability went over like a lead balloon with the national media. That story came from the Harbaugh camp. it wasn't journalism. It was advertising. Harbaugh shopped that story to every friendly journo in CFB. Rosenberg was the only one to stroke him. You probably noticed several national writers mocking the piece. It was an embarrassment to journalism.
• Let's be honest: We have the same range of writers on the OSU beat. However, a big difference is the size of the beat (massive, the biggest in CFB) and how competitive it is in terms of getting it right. IMO, the two most connected writers on the OSU beat are both actual journalists with no personal/emotional ties to the program (Landis, Lesmerises). Ward is very connected, too. Dan Hope is a real journalist, not a mouthpiece for the program. I trust anything that Hope publishes. Biddle is pure fanboy but Patrick Murphy is a credible journalist. If Patrick prints it, then I would pay attention. The ON3 guys aren't connected. Not their fault. They're too new. Means is plain lazy and barely even bothers to show up at the WHAC. He has no access. Baird is a real journalist but doesn't have a lot of connections in the program. Rabinowitz is more connected to the previous regime than to to the current leadership. I trust what he writes, but he won't get anything first. Rabinowitz specializes in the "wrap-up" piece after most of the reporting has been filed. God bless Tim May but he's a caricature of the old time beat reporter past his prime. Listen to what Landis, Ward, Murphy, Hope, and Lesmerises have to say. They'll have it first, and it will be correct.
• I watched the road show with Ward and Birm last night to see what they would say about the most recent TTUN allegations. It's on YT. Watch for yourself. There's a lot of stupid drivel and useless banter but they confirm the allegations about stolen footage and that it came from the "other" (Weiss) investigation. Ward is close to Ryan Day and Gene Smith. I would believe his reporting. He came from ESPN. He's a real journalist. 
• Lesmerises also sent a cryptic text that one of their text subscribers forwarded to me. "A lot has been made public in reporting, but we don't think everything has come out yet in regards to Michigan cheating allegations. There could be another level to this." I would take Lesmerises to the bank. My read of this type of messaging is that they have something, but they can't confirm it with secondary sources. Real journalists won't run with someone without secondary source confirmation. The problem is that TTUN has stopped answering the phones. We can't get them to comment on anything. We can't even get them to "no comment." 

A few people asked me about a Friday media dump. That's not really how it works with CFB reporting. That's more of a politics thing. If there is a dump from TTUN then I would expect it on Sunday when CFB media take a break and the sports world is consumed by NFL. That's IF there is a dump. The way that TTUN is playing this, I wouldn't expect to hear a word from them at all. They are letting their mouthpieces play defense for them.

(Mod Edit: Great synopsis, Oracle. However, the bulk of your intro is about Michigan matters, so your post has been moved to the College Sports Forum.)