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Kirk Herbstreit wants to put an end to shirtlessness in pregame warmups: ‘That needs to be banned’
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In the aftermath of Thursday’s Armed Forces Bowl debacle, it seems like there is a lot of introspection going on in the college football world. This seems especially true on the set of College GameDay.
On Friday, the show probably spent more time than it has ever before due to the melee that took place between Mississippi State and Tulsa. The fight was the finale of a game filled with tension between two programs that really have no reason to beef. It started thanks to some questionable warmup tactics from the Bulldogs that caught the attention of Kirk Herbstreit.
Prior to the game starting, Mississippi State and Tulsa began barking at each other in pregame warmups. The Bulldog players did so as most of them came out shirtless despite the fact the weather was not shirtless kind of weather. The temperature was under 40 degrees with a wintry mix coming down.
That pregame hostility spilled over into the game and what ensued after. It’s led to Herbstreit asking for change.
“The only way anything is going to change from this — and I think we all agree with this is an embarrassment,” Herbstreit said. “Not just for these two teams but for college football — we see this more and more in the sport, coming out without a shirt on. That needs to be banned in the sport. Coming out with your shirt off, that’s sending a message to your opponent. I remember Penn State-Ohio State a year ago. It adds to the chippy-ness of the game. And then it went on throughout the game.”
That’s some…interesting logic by Herbie. Not sure if the shirtlessness was the reason behind the pregame trash talk. It seems like it was just a very undisciplined Mississippi State program led by a coach in Mike Leach who has never been one for being disciplined.
If they want to ban being shirtless in warmups that’s fine. But if they think that’s going to curtail any sort of fighting, you’re sorely mistaken. It seems like there just needs to be more emphasis on the two programs and how they allowed themselves to get into this mess.