The South likes to call itself God’s country, but football is religion in SEC territory.
If one prescribes to pigskin Puritanism, consider Jacksonville State’s "miraculous" win against Ole Miss on Saturday a divine judgment.
Jeremiah Masoli, the quarterback for Oregon’s "offense from the future" in 2009, was dismissed from the team after pleading guilty to marijuana possession this spring; this after being suspended by the team for felony burglary charges.
To some a loophole, Masoli was able to transfer to Ole Miss as a graduate student because Oregon did not offer a graduate program that he "wanted to pursue."
However, just last week, the NCAA recognized Masoli’s phony maneuver and declined his waiver for eligibility in 2010, arguing that the transfer exception was not intended for student athletes looking to avoid disciplinary action.
Masoli and Ole Miss appealed.
And won.
As Jacksonville State quarterback Coty Blanchard’s game-winning two point conversion pass maneuvered itself over a mob of defenders and offensive linemen, one wonders if Ole Miss faithful recognized justice in the hands of Gamecock running back Calvin Middleton, or if Southern football fanaticism, much like the hard-line form of Christianity that often accompanies it, compels one to an unwritten code of selective moraliity.
Reach the reporter at Nick.Ruland@asu.edu
