Kirk Herbstreit Attacks Practice of Feigning Injuries During Tennessee-Oklahoma Game

The ESPN announcer called an apparent instance of it "unethical as hell."

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kirk Herbstreit attends the game between the LSU Tigers and the Southern California Trojans at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The (officially apparent) practice of faking injuries in college football is as old as the game itself. For instance, liberal (again, apparent) use of the practice during a game against Iowa in 1953 won Notre Dame the moniker "Fainting Irish."

However, rarely has the practice been targeted directly as it was during Tennessee and Oklahoma's game Saturday.

In the game's first quarter, Sooners defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry appeared to go down with an injury. A sideline view of his fall, though, appeared to show him looking at the sidelines knowingly before going down.

That set off ESPN announcer and ex-Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who took direct aim at the practice.

"It drives me crazy. They look over after a big play and all the sudden, he just goes down. It’s not necessarily against the rules, but it’s unethical as hell," Herbstreit said. "You see it all over against these tempo offenses. Guys just go down with a quote-unquote 'injury.'"

Herbstreit just teed off:

“They look over after a big play and all the sudden, he just goes down. It’s not necessarily against the rules, but it’s unethical as hell. You see it all over against these tempo offenses. Guys just go down with a quote unquote injury …pathetic.” pic.twitter.com/mNUf0iw65y

— Connor O'Gara (@cjogara) September 22, 2024

Herbstreit went so far as to label the practice "pathetic."

Terry, making matters even more interesting, played for the Volunteers from 2021 to '22.

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