The Vengeance of the Football Gods
by Gregg Easterbrook | Tuesday Morning Quarterback
Shawn Harris of High Point, N.C., notes that a week ago, Murray State, a Division I-AA team, traveled to Division I North Carolina State in the paid-cupcake role and got steamrolled, 65-7. Bad sportsmanship, obviously, on the part of the Wolfpack for running up the score. But should we feel sympathy for Murray State? No -- because the previous week, the Racers hosted paid cupcake Kentucky Wesleyan, a Division II program, and relentlessly ran up the score to 66-10, including by continuing to throw when ahead 59-10 in the fourth quarter. Murray State, your bad sportsmanship was repaid. Check the stats of the Murray State-Wesleyan contest -- Murray State had three return touchdowns and two safeties, scoring 66 points with just 13 first downs.
Steve Martin of Somerset, N.J., adds that Stephen F. Austin, a Division I-AA school, played the cupcake role for Division I SMU in its opener, then itself scheduled a cupcake in NAIA Texas College, running up the score to 92-0. When the final score is so extreme, the victor, not the vanquished, should feel embarrassed. Christopher Rubinate of Wallingford, Pa., writes, "J.C. Harper, the head coach of the 92-0 victors said, 'I'm very proud of our execution and focus. We've been preaching that since November.' Apparently they haven't been preaching sportsmanship! SFA has an enrollment of more than 10,000 and its football program has produced NFL stars Larry Centers, Jeremiah Trotter and Mark Moseley, the 1982 NFL MVP. Texas College is a historically-black college with financial problems that currently enrolls 705 students." So Stephen F. Austin, you beat up on a helpless team -- that's not sports, that is bully behavior. If I were an SFA alum, I'd feel terrible about this dishonorable behavior by the football team.
Bill Rudick of Quarryville, Pa., reports that on Saturday, Division II Shaw beat Division II Lincoln 68-6: "Shaw has won the last two titles in its conference, while Lincoln is in its second season playing football after a 48-year hiatus. Leading 68-6, Shaw got the ball back with 18 seconds remaining, after keeping most of its defensive starters on the field to prevent a miraculous Lincoln comeback. Did they take a knee? They lined up in the shotgun and threw deep. Also, leading 61-6 with four minutes to play, Shaw rushed 11 men against a Lincoln punt, creating a fumble Shaw recovered in the end zone. It was flat-out pathetic." Shaw should be embarrassed about this game, not Lincoln. Ben Burchuck of Raleigh, N.C., writes, "During the LSU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette game on Saturday night, the announcers mentioned LSU is 21-0 all-time vs. the Ragin' Cajuns and in those 21 contests, LSU has outscored ULL 957-22. Now the combined score between these schools is 988-25." I am glad Louisiana-Lafayette kicked a field goal, to prevent the absurdity of LSU boasting about shutting out a team that had absolutely no chance.
"Nonstopdrivel" wrote: