Nick Saban is calling for a massive change to college football rules.
Ole Miss was at the center of the fake injury controversy following their 27-3 win over South Carolina on Oct. 5, involving several players appearing to feign injuries, likely in an effort to slow down the game.
Saban, the former Alabama coach, addressed the issue Saturday on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
“It’s the integrity of the game,” Saban said. “And there’s no player who flops in a game without getting a signal from the coach to do it – to slow the game down. There’s a story to that because in the old days you had to run off the field if you got hurt. I mean, I broke my leg and I have to run off the field. Well, the fastball came along, so everyone was like, ‘If you’re hurt, stay down, don’t get up.’ We cannot replace quickly. that’s enough.
“So now people are taking advantage of that rule. But I think until there’s a penalty for doing it, and I know it’s a very sensitive subject for an official to determine whether a player is injured or not – but there should be a flop rule. And if a guy gets up, runs and collapses right before the game starts, maybe that should be a timeout charged for that team because it’s pretty obvious in those situations where guys are flopping and not being not hurt.”
Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer questioned the game’s 11 timeouts during the postgame press conference last weekend.
“I hope they’re okay…I’m fascinated by how many injuries happen after the opposing offense makes a first down or a big play…” he said. “The timing of some injuries makes college football look very bad and that’s not what this game is about.”
Saban’s “GameDay” colleague Kirk Herbstreit also took issue with the injury trend, taking aim at Oklahoma after the team appeared to fake an injury in the first quarter of their eventual 25-15 loss to Tennessee on September 21.
“It’s unethical,” Herbstreit said. “It doesn’t break a rule, but it is unethical.”
According to “GameDay” host Rece Davis, Craig Bohl, president of the American Football Coaches Association, said addressing fake injuries is a top priority heading into the upcoming season.
However, he mentioned that teams don’t need to wait for new rules to come into effect and can take matters into their own hands by ending this tactic.
“I think there are several solutions here, but it’s going to start with the coaches and the integrity of the game,” Saban added. “And I think we should all respect the integrity of the game because there’s so much passion for our game and so much people and so much fan interest, and when you hear people constantly booing because of that, that’s a problem.”
Ole Miss, for its part, released a statement before Saturday’s game against LSU, addressing the subject.
“Fake injuries have become a notable topic in college football, and we realize our program is part of that discussion,” said the the school said, according to the Clarion Ledger. “We have been in communication with the National Football Officiating Coordinator and provided him with relevant medical information for his review to answer questions about recent injuries.
“We have also updated the SEC office, and our head coach will communicate with our coaches and players to ensure we are behaving properly and are compliant in this regard.”
