The reason Florida State schedules a football game with The Citadel is simple. FSU gets a win and The Citadel gets paid.
FSU is the defending national champion (FBS). The Citadel plays at the lower FCS level (and don’t you wish we could just call them Division 1 and 1-AA again). It’s almost not sportsmanlike to line up these smaller schools and beat them by ridiculous scores, but everyone does it (or tries to). The small school gets a huge payday that helps sustain the program – sort of like taking one for the team. The big school wins, gets to play backups, feels good about a preposterous victory margin.
FSU won on Saturday night but the 37-12 victory was costly … for both schools.
The Citadel runs a triple-option offense, and that calls for a particular style of blocking to make the running game work. Cut blocking involves a lot of shots by the offensive line to the knees of the defenders. It has been described as shoving a coffee table into the knees of the defensive player. Three FSU defensive tackles were hurt in the game. Now FSU coach Jimbo Fisher says he won’t schedule cut-blocking teams any longer.
Worse, The Citadel suspended guard Victor Hill indefinitely after he wrote on Facebook on Sunday night that the Bulldogs’ line was “deliberately going for the knees” against FSU. On Facebook? Why not admit it to an elevator video camera? But Hill wasn’t suspended for going after anyone’s knees. Coach Mike Houston said it was for making “inappropriate comments” on social media.
As always, there’s so much wrong here we could write a book instead of a blog. The big, bad schools ought not engage in mismatches. Cut blocking should be banned, though most coaches would say there would be no running game without it. And no one should hint at trying to deliberately trying to cause injuries. The game is rough enough without it.
Today’s question: What’s your opinion of what happened? Should “guarantee games” be done away with?
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .
Apple Has Made Their iPhone 6 Release!
-
Famous British Olympian Retires After an illustrious career adorned with numerous accolades, Dame Laura Kenny, Britain’s most successful female...
-
Manchester City Brings it Home with a 3-1 Victory! Following Manchester City’s impressive 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen in...
-
Murray’s New Goals Before Retirement Andy Murray, the renowned British tennis player and three-time Grand Slam champion, has shared...
-
Kylian Mbappe led Paris Saint-Germain to a resounding 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad in the first leg of their...
-
Klopp acknowledges defensive flaws as Liverpool suffers unexpected defeat against Arsenal. Following Liverpool’s unexpected defeat against Arsenal, manager Jurgen...
-
Ryan Mendes’ Heroic Penalty: Captain Leads Cape Verde to Victory In a historic moment for Cape Verde, the national...
-
Probe Raises Questions About PSG’s 2017 Deal and Political Involvement. French authorities have launched an investigation into allegations...
-
As Ireland faces a back-three injury crisis ahead of the Six Nations, some players have an opportunity to step...
-
16-year-old Luke Littler Makes History as the Youngest Player to Join the Prestigious Premier League Darts Luke Littler, the...
-
Get ready for the electric thrill! In a groundbreaking move, Formula E announces its exclusive broadcasting partnership with TNT...
-
Captain Kohli’s Record-Equalling Century Lights Up World Cup Match Against South Africa. On the occasion of his 35th birthday,...
-
All-Rounder Stokes Aims for Recovery Ahead of Upcoming India Test Series England Test captain Ben Stokes has announced that...