The season started last night, and saw an EPIC game played in Nashville. Ole Miss @ Vandy had a little bit of everything. Big hits. Big plays. Tough gritty performances by both teams. Two lead changes in the final two minutes. Breakout performances by true freshman. If you didn’t watch it, you missed one for the ages.
Question: I thought there was a rule about when a player displays symptoms of concussion, he is not allowed back in the game?
A receiver for Vandy last night really got his bell rung. Guy was wobbly when he got up, appears to try to signal for a replacement, but then waived it off for another play…collapsed after that play, vomited multiple times on the field, led off on very unsteady legs…and returned to the game just a few plays later…
Jesus. That’s ridiculous. We know enough about concussions to know that a lot of the damage is often done when the player isn’t given enough time to recover from the first concussion. Tim Tebow was an idiot for playing one week after his concussion, but it’s criminal that his coaches and doctors let him. Same thing goes for the kid last night. Inexcusable.
I’m one of the biggest college football fanatics on the planet, but the crap I’m seeing in the sport right now absolutely disgusts me. Oversigning, trotting out concussed kids, and nobody is getting a red cent in compensation.
I agree about the concussion. If you vomit after a head injury, you need to be rushed by ambulance to the hospital. Forget the game.
I disagree about the compensation. They’re getting free educations, often at schools that would otherwise not be interested in someone of their intellect. Even if they never turn pro, if they take advantage of this opportunity it’s time well spent.
Michigan State at home vs. Western Michigan. Western will be improved in a few years, some good recruits and a new untested coach. Today is not the time for an upset, State will roll en route to a 14-0 season. GO STATE!
The player I mentioned above is Jordan Matthews. He says the vomiting was due to dehydration, and not a head injury. I remain skeptical. The kid was weak kneed going off the field. Looked like he’d been knocked out, or nearly so. Then again, I’m not a doctor, and the guy made a clutch play to keep the drive alive after coming back in to the game.
My original question remains though–is there a rule against returning to the game after showing signs of a head injury?
I went to bed before the sequence in question, but I read about it this morning (on Tiger Droppings, maybe?) and people were angry that Millen and Tessitore were harping on what was “clearly” an abdominal or dehydration issue. I don’t have an opinion since I didn’t see it, but earlier in the game, the Vandy kick returner was knocked out cold and nobody said boo. On the next kick they mentioned that he wasn’t out there, but that was the end of it, as far as I heard. Millen kept going on and on about what a great hit it was, when it was clear in real time that the returner was unconscious when the ball came out. They showed the replay a million times and it’s clear as day, his hands go to his chest and his body doesn’t move while both teams scramble around him. “Great hit!”
There’s a new “point of emphasis” this year, meaning refs are going to start enforcing it every time it happens. Players aren’t allowed to hit with the crown of their helemt without wrapping up. Expect a few people to be ejected this weekend.
They did something similar last year, making players sit out a play if their helmets came off. The average incident-per-game went from over three, to just over one-per-game as the season wore on.
I watched the recap of the game here, and it seems clear to me that this wasn’t a concussion or a head injury. He took a shoulder pad to the abdomen hard, and if he was already somewhat dehydrated, I can see where that hit would have shook him up pretty good. You can see Matthews holding his gut after he gets up and then all thru the brief ensuing play, too.
I’ve had multiple concussions (8 so far) and I’ve suffered from dehydration so bad that I’ve passed out in mid-sentence. This didn’t look at all like a head injury to me but I could see where it could have been caused (in part) by dehydration.
BUT, I think that the new rules about concussions in both the NCAA and the NFL are a good thing; TBIs are nothing to fuck around with and even the possibility of one should preclude a player from staying on the field.
Why was this kid a walk-on? It’s not like he spent the last 5 years under the radar in Iraq: “Mayfield certainly seemed at ease under the Friday night lights - just like the past two seasons as a starter at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, while winning a state championship.” It seems like if you win a state championship your name should be out there. Did he get offers, but just not from the school that he really wanted to go to? Was this game just a fluke? like Garrett Gilbert had 4 years ago or like that one good playoff game Tebow had in the NFL?
Toledo @ Florida could be an interesting game. Toledo is solid, and six Florida players are suspended for the game.
Is this the year Clemson actually lives up to its expectations? I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen that happen.
Key games are Northwestern @ Cal, Nevada @ UCLA, and LSU @ TCU. All those games will give us some idea of what to expect from the ranked teams involved. Northwestern is getting some buzz as a B1G dark horse.
Ohio State hangs 23 points and 200+ yards of offense on Buffalo in the first quarter. And that’s with two of their best RBs suspended for this game. It isn’t just the SEC that plays a few cannon fodder OOC games…
Not sure, I switched over to the A&M game…but I see from the scoring update that Buffalo is trying to come back. They were down 30-20 last I saw.
About to launch into a back-to-back-to-back slate of SEC goodness. Miss State v Okla St, Bama v VT, and LSU v TCU. My Bullydogs are probably in for a tough game, but man…an upset win here would be awesome.
This one would be. Okla State is a ranked team, and Miss State is not a top tier SEC school.
Just saw really bad news for Ole Miss, too. Nkemdiche is out 4-6 weeks after knee surgery. I hate that. Kid is really a special player, with tons of potential.
My Bullydogs are hanging tough with Okla State. Down 7-3 at the half. Defense is playing well, but the offense is sputtering. Bama kicking off soon…and I forgot to even mention Georgia-Clemson tonight. Great day of college football.
Arkansas is looking pretty good so far. Up by 13 at the half. Brett Bielema put together a really good coaching staff. He’s been appearing all over the state speaking and getting fan support. His players really like him too. He’s a players coach.
Fresh start and I’m hoping Bielema’s new system pays off this season.