Taking a knee near the end of a game is nothing different, but stopping short on a run or kneeling before the end zone is becoming a disturbing trend to gamblers, both in the NFL and college football.
Two weeks ago it was LA Rams running back Todd Gurley who pulled up at the 5-yard line and allowed a Green Bay player to tackle him. It allowed the Rams to run out the clock. Those that had the Rams were furious at the play, because a touchdown would have allowed them to cover.
LSU and Florida were the latest teams that had a chance to score late in the game, but stopped short or knelt down to run out the clock. The Tigers were a 13-point favorite against Arkansas, and had a 24-17 lead with a little over a minute to play.
Tigers running back Nick Brossette had not one, but two chances to score a touchdown, but instead decided to stop short and chew up time. This wasn’t a lone decision, but something Coach Ed Orgeron and his coaching staff devised.
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“That’s something we practice,” Orgeron said. “Down-down. We can run the clock out. That’s what you do.”
Much like Gurley, Brossette didn’t know what the line was, and didn’t care.
“It’s situational football,” Brossette said. “We go over this every week. All the people that’s out there, you gotta know football. I wasn’t about to take a touchdown because I just wanted to get out with a win.”
Florida was a six-point pick over South Carolina and with 1:40 remaining, were leading 35-31. The Gators got to the 2-yard-line after an interception and rather than try and punch it in, took a knee three times to run out the clock.
Nebraska Turning Season Around
There were a couple of snickers when Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said that even though Nebraska had won only two games, they were dangerous. Turns out he may have been on to something. Not only are the Cornhuskers winning games, they are helping out gamblers.
The team has won three of its last four games, its only loss in that span a five-point defeat to the No.10 Buckeyes. Against the spread, though they are 5-1 in their last six games. They are hosting Michigan State on Saturday and are 1.5-point underdogs.
The most recent common opponent was OSU. Nebraska last 36-31 on the road, and the Spartans lost 20-6 at home to the Buckeyes. In other teams both Nebraska and MSU have faced, the Spartans have the edge. They lost to No. 4 Michigan by 14, while the Cornhuskers were pounded by 46. Against Purdue, the Spartans won by 10. Nebraska lost by 14.
Running Towards Defeat
The Davidson Wildcats faced the University of San Diego as a 28-point underdog and nearly pulled off the upset before losing, 56-52. That wasn’t the remarkable part. Neither was the over/under of 74.5 that went over by 33.5 points.
The incredible part was that Davidson rushed for an NCAA record 789 yards. The team had four players rush for at least 150 yards. Wesley Dugger had 231 yards, William Wicks had 199, Tyler Phelps had 159 and Keylan Brown had 150.
The previous record was set in 1988 when Oklahoma rushed for 768 yards against Kansas. The Sooners, however, won 70-24.