College GameDay analysts get in heated debate over Houston, D’Eriq King situation
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Houston is undergoing a unique situation at the moment, as QB D’Eriq King and a senior wide receiver are planning on sitting out the rest of the 2019 season.
They plan to return to the Cougars in 2020, but it’s been a hot topic of debate over whether this is a good move or not.
On Saturday’s episode of College GameDay, the hosts — Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Kirk Herbstreit — had a heated debate. Howard and Pollack voiced strong opinions against what the Cougars are doing:
Desmond: “I first saw the news on College Football Live and thought, ‘This is pretty odd.’ Then, I started listening to the facts. It seems like an egregious manipulation of the rule. It seems like a betrayal of the team, because now it seems like you have a whole bunch other guys. He’s practicing. He’s doing everything but playing. The receiver is, too. They’re practicing, but they’re not going to play on Saturday. They’re 1-3. If they’re 4-0, do they make this decision?
“Exactly, to me, that’s how you’re manipulating the rule.”
Rece Davis : “But what’s the difference of holding out a younger player?”
Desmond: “No, no, no, no. There’s a big difference if you’re talking about a guy who scored 50 touchdowns a year ago.”
Pollack: “Welcome to tanking in college football now. You’ve seen it with the 76ers. You’ve seen it with Dolphins currently in the NFL. Now, you have tanking in college football.”
Pollack: “Here’s where Dana (Holgorosen) might get himself in trouble. Yes, you are tanking in playing right now for the future. You might lose a lot of your team in the future, because you’re telling the right guard right now, ‘By the way,
you didn’t get picked to tank.” Herbstreit: “I don’t know how he (Holgorsen) stands up in front of the team the rest of the year.”
Will this become more commonplace in college football? Or, is Houston just a blip on the radar?
It sounds like the GameDay hosts hope it’s the latter.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
