While the Michigan-Ohio State game doesn’t have the same stakes this year as it has in recent seasons due to the Wolverines having a down year, that doesn’t mean there’s any love lost between the two states.

The Ohio Department of Transportation trolled Michigan with a message on one of the road signs ahead of Saturday’s showdown between the Big Ten rivals.

The message is a reference to the Connor Stallions saga that put a dark cloud over an otherwise stellar season for the Wolverines in the 2023 season.

Stalions, who was hired for Michigan on Jim Harbaugh’s staff, was allegedly to have personally attended matches for future opponents and directed others to attend those matches, film the sideline and decode signals from the team.

In a Netflix documentary series about the scandal (h/t ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Mark Schlabach), the Stallions said during an interview with NCAA investigators that he never stole signs via personal scouting.

Stallions resigned from his position at the school amid the scandal. Harbaugh was suspended for the final three games of the Big Ten regular season.

Michigan received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in August. Harbaugh, former linebackers coach Chris Partridge and former assistant personnel director Denard Robinson were each charged with Level I violations, the most serious under NCAA discipline.

Sherrone Moore, who took over as head coach after Harbaugh was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers, is considered a potential “repeat offender” by the NCAA after he previously negotiated a settlement stemming from recruiting violations during a covid-19 dead period.

Michigan finished the 2023 season with a 15-0 record and a victory in the College Football Playoff Championship Game.

The Wolverines have won three straight in the series, but enter Saturday’s matchup with a 6-5 record this season. It is their first season with at least five losses since 2017 (8-5).

Ohio State is 10-1 and ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 poll. The Buckeyes can clinch a berth in the Big Ten Championship game against Oregon with a win on Saturday.