re: Auburn player who did an obvious soccer flop...

quote:

---

I knew if I said "soccer flop" then it would lead someone to think I meant the famous thing that Jamal did against the Florida guy and got us a cheap 15 yards (which was brilliant btw by Jamal, showed his incredible football IQ).

---

I think you just highlighted a pretty big issue. A lot of people think the coaches need to police this kind of thing in the name of good sportsmanship, but that won’t happen as long as it’s a smart play for the team. No coach will publicly say that they want their players to do this sort of thing, but they certainly aren’t going to put a stop to it either.

So if the coaches aren’t going to police it, then it’s up to the NCAA. And the NCAA is in a tough spot. If they make it a penalty, then the refs have to determine what constitutes a “legitimate” injury. That’s not realistic.

They can force the player to sit out some amount of time but then it’s a question of how long. If it’s just a series, it’s probably not enough to solve the problem. If it’s something like a half, you run the risk of players being punished for getting hurt on a play - there are times when a player needs to come out to get something taped up, looked at by trainers etc. to prevent further injury but the player may still be physically capable of coming back into the game.

Personally I think the realistic options are either:

A) Do nothing and chalk it up to a consequence of tempo offenses.

B) Implement a rule that requires a player to sit out a limited amount of time - maybe the current and next series, or until the start of the next quarter - if the trainers have to come onto the field.

Saw that live, though the announcers ignored it. Dude wasn’t involved in the play, but a sniper got him and let them sub in their goal line defense. I guess it’s legal. If you can’t beat them, join them!