Sam Pittman calls out Missouri for faking injuries
One of the hottest topics in college football over the past few seasons has been faked injuries. Fans on social media, sometimes with video evidence, and coaches will call out the opposing team’s players for appearing to suddenly collapse and stop the clock when the offense has obvious momentum and is one the march to score, often when moving at a quick tempo.
Sam Pittman appeared to lob that accusation at Mizzou on Saturday, In a postgame press conference clip shared by Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette multimedia reporter Seth Campbell, the Arkansas coach noted that a number of Mizzou players “got hurt and came back today.” His comment about “integrity of the game” is also sure to add even more intensity to the Battle Line Rivalry.
“I don’t know if the kids were hurt or not, but there was a lot of them. There is no penalty for that. Again I’m not a medical doctor but there were a lot of kids that got hurt and came back today. That’s not the integrity of the game in my opinion.” – Sam Pittman pic.twitter.com/kKnTNLd0oh
— Seth Campbell (@SethCampbell5) December 5, 2020
Pittman certainly wasn’t alone in accusing Eli Drinkwitz’s squad of faking injuries.
Come on… how are these refs not seeing these fake injuries?
— FQArkansas (@FQArkansas) December 5, 2020
Watch for the fake Missouri injury Hogs are moving
— Kevin M. (@KevLRNE) December 5, 2020
The fake injuries from mizzou is getting out of control lol
— NBA CHAMPION ANTHONY DAVIS SUPPORTER (@_justinrhoads) December 5, 2020
Agreed. Did you see this fake injury? pic.twitter.com/Lv8l8TMTZU
— Matt Shepherd (@MattShepherd16) December 5, 2020
Another FAKE injury
— Joe 🅰️ Hog 🐗🐗🐗 (@fudgeja) December 5, 2020
Again Mizzou? With the fake injury? Yall suck.
— Caleb Neil Manning (@manndogg18) December 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/MelissainPhx/status/1335321335443017728
So many fake injuries by Mizzou to slow down the hurry up today @RazorbackFB #WPS
— Jake Ford (@fordja10) December 5, 2020
How many more injuries are you gonna fake? @MizzouFootball
— Chaz Marple (@bigdaddychazzy) December 5, 2020
Eli having his guys fake injuries when Arkansas goes tempo. What a joke
— Adam Lucas (@Adam_Lucas) December 5, 2020
We get a 1st down and Missouri fakes an injury… imagine that!
— Chad Hardin (@ChadHardin18) December 5, 2020
Missouri has used the fake injury consistently today #ARKvsMIZ
— Calvin Daniels (@calvindanielsll) December 5, 2020
Another fake injury for Mizz!
— R. B. S. (@RodneySmith1971) December 5, 2020
And another fake injury by Misery…. wow
— Alex Zulpo (@alexzulpo_501) December 5, 2020
can the sec make a ruling on the number of fake injuries you can have a game.. mizzou is way over the limit
— Gary Price (@Price10Tag) December 5, 2020
@CoachDrinkwitz @SECOfficiating These fake Mizzou injuries are getting ridiculous.
— Ben Gilbert (@Cygnus912) December 5, 2020
Missouri should be fined for this many fake injuries. No integrity from Drinkwitz
— Tony Zamboni (@TaylorMcKnight3) December 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/hogstatic/status/1335322997335465984
Yeah make excuses fat boy.
Fat boy?
Pittman’s got to blame something or someone because he can’t blame Odom or his defense for letting Mizzou score almost at will in the 4th quarter.
Not that Mizzou’s d was doing much better.
Not making excuses. A loss is a loss, but this is a league-wide issue that should be called out and addressed regardless of who won.
I agree with Pittman.
That’s not why you lost the game. The better team won and has won for the past 5 years.
I think I’ve asked you this before and didn’t receive a response but I’ll ask it again. What has the Missouri tiger football program done in the past few seasons to warrant such smack talk from their fan base? If the answer is beating Arkansas that’s not much of an accomplishment.
Nothing wrong with calling out obvious unsportsmanlike conduct. So GTFO.
Benton is the worst sort of fan. What a goof.
Ikr! This man gives us not just our first sec win since 2017, but three of them (and we honestly could’ve had more of not for covid and zebra magic). I know I’m grateful to say the least!
It’s Chad Morris’s wife. Just defending Chaggie.
Hey fat boy, maybe if you stop cut blocking constantly the other teams D-line won’t get hurt as much.
Well now we have heard from the expert…at least in his mind.
When Saban stops killing tempo with “hurtsies” guess the rest of the league will have to follow, until then.. HAHAHA
What has the Missouri football program done the past few seasons to warrant this much smack talk from its fan base? If beating Arkansas is your answer that’s not much of a compliment.
Swine intervention, Missouri got the better HC in the recently hired of 4 SEC HCs. Also Missouri just picked up a 4* recruit for 2022. This is one weakness that had hurt Missouri throughout history. Getting a 4* Safety from St. Louis is huge! Missouri is only going to get better on the field and in recruiting better players. Odom couldn’t do this when he was the HC for Missouri. That is why Drinkwitz is the key to Missouri turn around for the better and shall compete for the SEC east division sooner than later. I think he will be better than Gary Pinkel.
Your #99 was not cut block and he went down after looking toward the sideline. It’s unfortunately part of the game to slow down tempo teams but trying to deny it is futile.
How much could they have slowed the game down at 50 points to 48 points. Geeezzz. And who did it end up hurting it was Missouri that was behind in the second half and behind at the end of the game. So if it hurt anyone, it hurt Missouri. You don’t get the ball back after scoring, you have to give it to the other team and unless you have a borderline or above insurmountable lead, then you are not faking an injury to slow the game down. I could understand one fan being to dumb to get this but where did this collection of displaced frustration about their own team’s defense come from.
Are you really this dumb? They ran a no huddle offense the whole game. If the defense is getting beat, they fake an injury to give the line a break and save a time out. Watch the video above. The kids walking, looks at the sideline, points at himself, and then lays down. It’s not the reason Arkansas lost, but they definitely did it.
STFU
Quit cheating
Quit whining and play some winning football.
Odom will not be long term at Arky.
Hogs need to just call it a day. You dont need to play us and it will be a waste of our time. Its harsh but man, that was pathetic and you looked like a Chad Morris team except for the offense. Some good stuff there. Looks like you found next years QB/RB combo to go with a pretty good receiver corp. But that defense…YIKES.
… And I think Arky fans are calling out Pittman too.
I’m not going to agree or disagree…but the fake injuries are definitely going to have to be addressed. If you are hurt and stop the game, it should require missing more than just one play. Maybe miss the next couple of possessions. You ain’t hurt when you pop up, run off and come back in after one play.
My thoughts exactly! If it’s a true injury, you would be out at least several plays (medical checks, etc.). So if you fall down on the field after the play, and after you got up all nonchalant, then you should be out at least one possession. With that said, our defense was so bad we didn’t deserve to win. I love the Hudson Clark story, but teams have targeted the kid continuously. However, he was not alone.
I didn’t think we stood a chance once I heard Franks was out, but I was pleasantly surprised with KJs performance tonight, especially given his lack of experience. So at least that’s a positive take away.
You LOST! Get over it! In fact, YOU LOST THE LAST FIVE TIMES! Stop looking for excuses and play better.
Anything worth reading from you? Anything?
Nope.
At least our coach isn’t crying like a little girl. Here’s a tip: Play better.
Gotta own the defensive failure and move on. The fake injury bs is done by every team in almost every game. Some are very blatantly done and something needs to change to fix it, but arky lost a shoot out. End of story
Thank you. Best Arkansas post here.
Mizzou, you can’t hide the truth when there is a film and there is plenty of it. Too many teams today try to get away with it when other teams have momentum. Coaches are cowards for telling their kids to go down on purpose.
Coming from someone whose team belongs in DIII that’s rich. Your team definitely plays like a girl.
Nice burn. No one said that’s the reason Arkansas lost, but momentum can definitely have a big effect on a game’s outcome. Sam is right that it’s a problem. CFB is riddled with it. Needs to be addressed and Mizzou was a clear example of it.
Our coach didn’t whine when your player did his best to take out our qb in the first series. He also didn’t cry about the targeting call. I thought this was an exciting game regardless of the score but when people look for lame excuses it’s not acceptable.
Your qb was lights out imo, but your d couldn’t stop Mizzou in the last minute of the game. That was the difference.
First, if you don’t like the quality of posts on the Arky board, head back to Misery.
Second, faking injuries is a b***h move and your boys did it a lot.
Third, Razorback D lineman did not go for your QBs knee, he was pushed in the back by your O-lineman, go find a replay on your way out.
Thank you. Well said. All good points.
He was hired by Malzahn in 2006, what do you expect?
Simple fix. Player sits for quarter or half. Then timeouts are taken away. Then 10 yard penalty’s with automatic 1st downs, of course with clock stopped. Optional: Opposing team gets option of adding or deleting 30 or 60 second depending on inside or outside of 2 minutes remaining in half or game.
You can’t prove a player is faking so you can’t sit them for a quarter or half. The way to fix this is, if play is stopped because of an injury the player must sit out for a designated amount of plays, say 3.
This is true, especially during the game. I think maybe if evidence comes out post game, like the video above a player should be penalized in the next game. Like having to sit for the first drive or something.
A lot of Arky fans are sore losers. Play better and you and your coach won’t have to cry so much.
Yeah…like you and some other Misery fans on here always have some good positive comments.
Arky played a heck of a game but couldn’t hold the lead in the last minute. End of story. How about when the Arky player targeted Bazelaks knees in the first series. Should he have been ejected?
Are you nuts, your offensive linemen pushed him after he got beat and he rolled into him. Definitely not intentional. Your boys were faking it. You don’t want to see it ok. But you’re pretty angry about it getting pointed out.
Hey frozen, if your defense stops Mizzou anytime in the last 43 seconds of the game you win and we’re having a totally different conversation.
2-10 overall 0-8 conference last year! What did you think was going to happen this year play in the SEC championship game. Give the team and coaches a couple years before you start calling for new coaches. Saying your team lost because of fake injuries is very laughable……… You had the game and was up big and gave it away it wasn’t joe schmoe faking an injury. The SEC at some point is going to become a place where coaches will not want to come if they can’t even get through one season without ridiculous expectations of the fans. Let them recruit and develop their own players for a few years then jump on the get rid of the coach bandwagon.
And I’m calling out Sam Pittman for faking being a legitimate SEC COY candidate
Hahaha!
Arkansas before game: We cant win because of the refs. Mizzou gets a stupid ref call and still wins. No one needs or respects excuses, Coach. Its Good game and move on.
When a ref sees a blatant non-injury the “injured” player should have to sit for a minimum of four downs. Drinkwitz is a good football coach, but faking-injuries to stop the momentum of an opposing team should not be tolerated anywhere/anytime. Football games should be won or lost on the plays, not the fakes.
Are you a ref? Didn’t think so.
Are you a moron? Thought so.
You’re not a ref either, dumb a$$. You post your ridiculous opinions on here quite often though, unfortunately.
Are you a whining crybaby loser. Thought so.
They were definitely faking injuries. Lots of teams do it, but it’s still weak. This situation is going to have to be addressed. Players should have to sit out a predetermined amount of plays if the game is stopped because of injury.
That’s not why they lost the game. Mizzou marched right down the field in 40 seconds and kicked the game winner. Besides that, Arky messed up two extra points and lost by……get ready…..two points!
tonytiger can count. Good boy..good boy.
Tell us some more lame excuses why arky couldn’t get it done.
Why is Missouri in the SEC?
Because they 7-1 against Ol Miss since 1978 and have a 6 game win streak. Your point is……
Ouch that was a good one. Tony you posted like 25 times in here? protest too much?
HUNH has been bad for the game IMO.
There’s a reason why we have the ref standing over the ball on offensive substitutions and other rule recent rule changes. While the HUNH is ‘legal’, it was not how football rules were designed to be implemented. Players faking an injury is bad for the game but turning football into soccer or basketball on grass, is not much better.
Either allow the defense the right to substitute between plays, at least after an offensive 1st down, or go to hockey substitution rules where more than 11 players can be on the field as long as they are not involved in the play. Dropping a flag on a 310 pound DL 40 yards from the ball and 3 yards from his sideline is ridiculous. [BTW, I think this is a silly solution but it shows how messed up the situation is now.]
If your so afraid to line up your 11 with the other guy’s 11 that you have to run no-hurry, then go play another sport.
Ok, I didn’t see it during this game but there is video evidence. For those saying Pittman is making excuses, watch the interview. A reporter asked his opinion he gave it, he never used it as an excuse, he said in the post-game interview that the defense wasn’t there in this game. If you notice he didn’t celebrate the 2 point conversion because he knew that the D had to step up. He acknowledged the teams shortfalls. This entire article was based off one snippet of the interview. No excuses were made, Arkansas lost that very close game all on their own, and I believe they will make adjustments.
Dear definitely intellectually honest Mizzou fans,
Even if Arkansas wins this game, this is still a cheap move. You know it. Honest Mizzou fans are likely embarrassed by it. I doubt anyone thinks it was the difference in the game, but that doesn’t change that it is cheap.
Late to the party on this, but seriously, you want to honestly defend what the video obviously shows? The answer is no. It’s not an honest defense. Just like it’s not honest of the coaches or players using this strategy. You could just be like the honest Mizzou fans who aren’t trying to defend this nonsense.
Thanks.
I keep reading comments how Pittman is a “good fit” at Arky, pretty sure they are throwing some shade with that line.