Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz cracks Connor Stalions joke on ESPN after Tigers pitted against Ohio State in Cotton Bowl

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz had some fun with Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal Sunday after it was revealed his team would play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Appearing on ESPN’s College Football Playoff show Sunday afternoon, Drinkwitz joked that he had to leave his live interview because former Michigan analyst Connor Stalions was calling him.

Take a look:

“Hey guys, I got a quick phone call, Connor Stalions beeping in right here, I’m trying to get a few signals here so I gotta go,” Drinkwitz said as he could hardly contain himself. “But as soon as we get done, look forward to competing against Ryan Day and we’ll go from there.”

Stalions is, of course, the former Michigan staffer accused of an elaborate in-person sign-stealing scheme to help Michigan decipher future opponents’ signals.

It’s a dig that most Michigan fans will certainly not find nearly as funny as Drinkwitz and the ESPN studio crew did. But most neutral observers should be able to appreciate it.

And even if Michigan fans don’t appreciate it, they have bragging rights over Ohio State anyway. The Wolverines beat Ohio State in the final week of the regular season to advance to the Big Ten title game. Michigan won the Big Ten title on Saturday night in an easy 26-0 win over Iowa to earn the top seed in the College Football Playoff.

The win over Ohio State came as Harbaugh was serving the third game of a three-game suspension from the Big Ten for the sign-stealing scandal. While the Big Ten said it didn’t have any evidence that Harbaugh was aware of Stalions’ scheme, commissioner Tony Petitti disciplined Harbaugh because he wanted to minimize any punishment that would affect Michigan’s players.