Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Sportsmanship and NCAA Divisoin I Football

I'm so sick of reading how classless Urban Meyer is for finishing a drive with a touchdown with 28 seconds remaining that punctuates a 42-20 spanking of the highly favored Oregon Ducks in the 2014 national championship game.

So for full disclosure I was cheering for the Ducks in the game. I also believe Urban Meyer is the best coach in all of college football.  Way way beyond that I don't see much of that "classy" sportsmanship anywhere in the ranks of college football you all are crying about not getting in this game.

I ask you.  In the 59-0 whipping Alabama laid on Texas A and M - which was the touchdown they should have taken a knee for?  In this game Alabama has 2 quarterbacks with at least 8 pass attempts and a touchdown.  They also had 4 with at least 8 rushes and no back had more than 13 carries.  They didn't score with 28 seconds remaining, but if you want to be classy and show good sportsmanship - at what point do you stop scoring?  They scored twice in the second half - that's it.  On which should they have taken a knee?

Let's not just allow Texas A and M to be the whipping boy here though.  They laid their own 73-6 beat down on Lamar.  First of all - who is Lamar and why were they playing A and M?  Second they go to the 4th quarter with a 45-3 lead and proceed to lay down 4 more touchdowns including a 41 yard run with 1:26 remaining.  Shouldn't he have taken a knee at the goal line to show some class?  I mean - they don't need the score to secure the win.  Sincerely they could have taken a knee on every 4th quarter down and done more to embarrass their opponent - don't you think?

Would you like to follow a thread?  The week after getting laid out by Texas A and M the Lamar Cardinals go on to beat Texas College (??) 73-0.  I can't even find a box score for that game, but they won by 73 so the question remains.... On which of their touchdowns should they have taken a knee?

Maybe we shouldn't talk about the blowouts then.  How about Ole Miss playing Memphis.  They won the game 24-3.  So with 1:18 remaining, and already a 2 score lead - they shouldn't have thrown a touchdown pass to give them the 21 point lead.  Right?

With scores like 70-6, 82-27, 73-0 it's hard to believe Meyer is getting so much hate for scoring a touchdown that gives a 22 point lead with 28 seconds to play. Yes - he could have taken a knee and shown some class.  That just doesn't look to me like the culture of  NCAA Division I football. If he's working in that culture, and blowouts are regularly accepted, why the hate for the best coach in college football?