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O’Gara: Should ‘Horns Down’ ever be penalized? Oklahoma has the right answer
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DALLAS — I know, Texas fans. The vast majority of you don’t care about “Horns Down.”
You don’t get as upset as people on the outside think you get. If anything, “Horns Down” is, as the kids say, “living rent-free” in everyone’s head.
But yeah, “Horns Down” is worth discussing. Why? Well, if anything is going to cost an SEC team 15 yards for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, we should probably discuss that. It’s not worth discussing with Texas players and coaches because they’re never going to be in jeopardy of getting penalized for that gesture. It was worth discussing with the team that has the most experience with “Horns Down.”
That’s Oklahoma, of course. Dare I say, the Sooners might just be entering the SEC with the right way to treat Horns Down.
Let’s back up a second. If you don’t understand the history of “Horns Down,” here’s a rundown. Last year, the Big 12 started penalizing teams any time it was shown. In the SEC, that approach will be tweaked. Context is important. SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid addressed that Tuesday.
“Unsportsmanlike conduct needs to fit one of three categories: Is it taunting an opponent? Is it making a travesty of the game? Is it otherwise compromising our ability to manage the game?” McDaid said (H/T 247sports). “There’s a difference between a player giving a signal directly in the face of an opponent, as opposed to doing it with teammates celebrating after a touchdown or on the sideline … it’s contextual.”
SEC head of officials John McDaid on if “Horns down” is a penalty: “Take the act out of a football stadium, put it in a shopping mall. Is it something that would offend the senses of the majority of reasonable people in the area?
Giving this signal, to me, isn’t offensive.”
— Olin Buchanan (@olinbuchanan) July 16, 2024
Ideally, this will be called like Ole Miss’ Landshark celebration or the Gator Chomp (even Tim Tebow got flagged for the Gator Chomp celebration when he did it against Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship). In actuality, there’s a newness to it that’ll be dissected closely.
Well, the newness doesn’t apply to Oklahoma. Brent Venables is no stranger to the subject. Last year after beating Texas, Venables was shown making the gesture, which was why I asked Venables if he thought it should ever be penalized.
Venables: Should be penalized? Like on the field? Is that what you’re referring to?
Me: Yeah, in a game.
“I don’t really have an opinion. Football is a game of emotion and intensity and passion, and if they say that’s going to be a penalty, then don’t do it,” Venables said. “And if they say it’s, you know, a free-for-all, then have at it. So everybody is different. Everybody celebrates different. But whatever rules that they have in place, we’ll follow those.”
To me, that does seem like an opinion. Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman and quarterback Jackson Arnold also had a non-opinion opinion.
“No comment on that,” Stutsman said. “It kinda just depends how it’s used. Obviously if you’re in someone’s face, (they’re) gonna throw a flag. But if it’s off to the side celebrating with just your teammates, then I don’t think it should be a problem.”
“No, but I’m not gonna get into it,” Arnold said.
Those 3 didn’t really get into it, but Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman certainly did.
Billy Bowman the first from OU to come to the media room, and he came with some heat!
Talking horns down: “If you let a hand signal effect you and effect the game, maybe you shouldn’t be there… If it can’t be a part of the game, that’s pretty soft.” pic.twitter.com/Ke5TD97pJy
— Dan Lindblad (@DanLindbladTV) July 16, 2024
Honestly? I bet even Texas fans are fine with that answer.
There’s nothing wrong with anything that Oklahoma said, including Bowman. Fortunately for Bowman, it can be part of that game … in the right context. At least, that’s the plan. Any perceived egregious “Horns Down” taunting penalty will be dissected ad nauseam.
What’s refreshing to hear is that SEC officials don’t plan on treating Texas differently from any other members. This also won’t be like a new rule that’ll be enforced heavily early on to try and prove a point.
There’s no point to prove here. There’s just an easy way to troll an opposing team.
It’s not a middle finger, nor is it anything resembling a certain D-Generation X gesture that became popular in the 1990s (you know what I’m referring to). To treat it as such would be a mistake, and it’s not one the SEC appears to be making. Good.
Welcome to the SEC, where the right to troll just means more.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
