It may have been a hot topic this week, but the discussion around Ole Miss and feigning injuries has been talked about since the Week 3 game against Wake Forest. After the South Carolina game in Week 6, it has been pushed to the forefront of college football media.
Yesterday evening, the Ole Miss program released a statement regarding the matter, discussing the guidelines they have put in place and their communication with the SEC and National Coordinator for Football Officiating.
Short statement from Ole Miss after finger-pointing
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer was asked about his thoughts on the number of Ole Miss players who went down injured during Gamecocks offensive drives. Beamer was careful with his answer, starting with "I hope all those players are okay," before mentioning it was a concern the amount of times it happened in the game.
Plenty of the media discussed the situation this week, which put the feigned injury discussion in the limelight. The week's progress prompted Ole Miss to release a statement on the matter.
#OleMiss just released this statement on the fake injury discussion. pic.twitter.com/CfH4Ww6ISh
— John Macon Gillespie (@JMakeGillespie) October 11, 2024
The statement shows that Ole Miss communicated with the National Coordinator for Football Officiating and provided relevant medical information regarding recent injuries. If you look back at the players who have gone down injured, a large majority have been listed as questionable or out through the practice weeks.
So many teams run up-tempo offenses, and it is said that players staying down injured disrupts the flow of the opponent's offense. Ole Miss has been on the other side of the argument in recent years, with Kiffin also running a high-tempo offense.
As long as Ole Miss can keep providing relevant medical information and answering the questions being asked, there will be no problem surrounding the allegations. However, as we well know by now, social media will not stop.