Top-ranked Georgia football was a target for Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing operation with plans to attend multiple games this season to film a possible playoff opponent, according to the Washington Post.

An outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with the information that said that four or five scheduled Georgia games were on a detailed schedule for in-person scouting and video recording, costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets.

The Post cited two people familiar with the matter and said the firm presented to the NCAA documents and video obtained from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple Michigan coaches,

Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was suspended by the school after reports he oversaw the operation of the program having someone record coaches signaling plays from the sideline, which is against NCAA rules.

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Georgia athletics has not responded to questions from the Athens Banner-Herald about being contacted by the NCAA about Michigan’s sign-stealing or whether Stalions purchased tickets for Bulldog games.

The inverstigative firm reported that scouts planned to attend as many as eight Ohio State games.

“I’ve never heard anybody going to games to watch and film and all of that other stuff that people are talking about," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday. “I don’t know anybody that’s ever done that and I’ve never been asked to do that as a young coach or known anybody to do that. I’ve never heard of that."

The outside firm did not present evidence that linked Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh directly to the sign-stealing operation, according to the Post.

Georgia beat Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl in the 2021 playoff semifinals.

ESPN reported that Stallions purchased tickets on the secondary market for the last two SEC championship games involving Georgia including the 2021 loss to Alabama before the Michigan matchup with Georgia.

Smart said Tuesday he had no knowledge that anything unusual was going on involved in that game.

"There's nothing I remember about Michigan that makes me think that," Smart said.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football in 2023 target of Michigan sign-stealing, report says