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‘Are you kidding me, Mike?!’: Kirk Herbstreit blasts Mississippi State’s Mike Leach after embarrassing brawl
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During Thursday’s Armed Forces Bowl, it appeared that the game between Mississippi State and Tulsa would be remembered for some fun return plays and a botched punt. But when the game was finished, there was a much more memorable moment. But not for a good reason.
The two teams went into a full-out brawl to wrap up the bowl game with punches, kicks and police involvement. The incident has rocked the college football world. Though the College GameDay crew is fully locked into the College Football Playoff, the crew certainly couldn’t pass up talking about this controversial finish.
As the final seconds went off the clock and the Bulldogs were celebrating a victory, things turned violent in a hurry. Many punches were thrown and police ended up getting involved as the two squads went at it.
While the fighting caused plenty of criticism, so too did the reaction of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach. Kirk Herbstreit was one of many to voice disdain for Leach’s reaction.
“Mike Leach should be embarrassed,” Herbstreit said. “His postgame interview and what he said, ‘Hey it’s football. Hey, it’s physical, it’s gonna happen.’ Are you kidding me, Mike? You should be embarrassed by your program and what it did after the game.”
Some harsh words from Herbstreit, but it seems in line with what the rest of the college football world was thinking. It’s not a great look when he responds like that and players are actively bragging about their performance in the fighting.
“And then afterward, the guys being proud, high-fiving walking off,” Herbstreit said. “This is a black eye for the sport. Maybe you don’t care about the sport, dude? It’s as bad as it could be watching that sitting aroung watching college football and that breaks out.
“It’s another black eye for college football.”
Leach has long been a polarizing figure in the sport for his bold behavior and coaching style. Though some may love his style, it’s hard to defend this behavior.