SEC Network analysts Peter Burns and Chris Doering are sick and tired of seeing fake injuries in college football.
One of the worst-kept secrets in CFB is that players will suddenly drop to the ground and pretend to be injured to either disrupt the opponent’s pace or slow things down for their own unit.
An egregious example of this happened on Saturday in the Kentucky-Ole Miss game. Jaxson Dart was seen motioning to his running back Matt Jones to go down and pretend to be injured.
Jones had to be told a few times, but the RB finally understood and then dropped to the ground and grabbed his right leg.
“It’s bush-league. It’s embarrassing.”
@PeterBurnsESPN & @ChrisDoering reacted to the trend of faking injuries in college football on #SECThisMorning! pic.twitter.com/p7PjFDzg4N— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) September 30, 2024
“That’s ridiculous. It’s bush league. It’s embarrassing,” Burns declared. “It’s embarrassing for Jaxson Dart. It’s embarrassing for Ole Miss. It’s embarrassing for the players. It’s embarrassing for the league, and it’s embarrassing for all of college football.”
Ole Miss is no stranger to the fake injury game. Back in 2022, Kiffin accused Texas A&M of employing the strategy. Now, Kiffin’s own squad is at the center of the controversy.
“Afterwards, if that’s going to happen, start fining these guys,” said Burns. “I guarantee you there has to be some kind of signal (to get down) coming from the sideline.”
All of this is on the back of a disappointing loss for the Rebels at home to Kentucky. The next test for the team will be in Week 6 against South Carolina.
Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.
