Urban Meyer, Gary Patterson and The Code

When TCU had the ball with a first and goal against Iowa State at the end of the most important game of the year (Would they make the playoff?), Coach Gary Patterson had his quarterback take a knee. And again. And again. Why? Because they had won the game, and there was nothing to be gained by running up the score. Urban Meyer had the same choice and chose to score again against Oregon as time ran out. It was a classic display of poor sportsmanship. Grantland Rice wrote “When the One Great Scorer marks beside your name, He marks not that you won nor lost, but how you played the game.”   Rice means the only thing more important than the score is “how you played the game.” Did you play fair, give your best effort, treat your opponent with respect and win with grace and dignity? In this case a great team effort and win was marred by the coach’s decision. What do you think?