Auburn Cheap Shot Helped Lead To BCS Headaches

Little could BCS voters and decision-makers have known that an incident that flew below most radars in mid-October could contribute to the avalanche of criticism and angst that would come their way roughly six weeks later.

In one of the most underreported plays of the entire season, Auburn offensive linemen Chaz Ramsey and Lee Ziemba combined to illegally chop-block LSU star defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, as seen below:



LSU would go on to win the October 20 home game vs. then-18th-ranked Auburn, 30-24, but the cheap shot would severely hamper Dorsey’s play and lead to further injuries for LSU’s emotional leader.

Amazingly, no flag was thrown on the play, but Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville admitted that the play should have been whistled as an illegal chop block on his team. LSU coach Les Miles considered it an "immoral play" and called the SEC offices to ask why no punishment was forthcoming for the conference, but was basically told that since the penalty was not called on the field, it would be up to Tuberville to discipline his players. Shockingly (and by “shockingly,” I mean, “not shockingly at all”), Tuberville elected not to punish or even reprimand either player, though he did publicly apologize, which was eventually accepted by an exasperated Miles. To be fair, Tuberville was busy angling for a contract extension and/or inquiring about possible openings at other SEC schools.

When asked about the chop block in his first interview following the incident, Ramsey, the right guard, said, “I don’t want to worry about it.” Yeah, I bet you don’t; cheap shots are most palatable when swept under the rug. Ramsey went on to say that labeling the play a chop block “messes with my head and gets me mad.” Really? I have a solution: Don’t take cheap shots. That way, you don’t jeopardize the career of a consensus top-five NFL draft pick and your head doesn’t hurt. That’s called a win-win … as opposed to the loss-loss that Auburn suffered.

Ziemba, the tackle on the play, waxed even more poetic: “It’s not the way we intended it to be; it’s just the way it happened. Football’s a hard game. Things like that happen all the time.” Football is a hard game, agreed; something tells me that “things like that” will happen “all the time” soon—like September 20, 2008, when LSU journeys to Auburn to face you.

With Dorsey sidelined or playing at half-speed with a bum knee and a bad back that resulted from compensating for the injury, the LSU defense was pushed around during the final five games of the campaign. Consider that the Tigers gave up just 14.1 points in the seven games prior to the Auburn contest; after the cheap shot, with Dorsey hobbled, LSU gave up 26 points in the final six games—and even that stat is skewed since it includes allowing just 10 points to lowly Louisiana Tech. The unit lacked the fire and intensity it drew from Dorsey down the stretch, which helped lead to some lackluster performances that culminated in giving up 50 points in a triple-overtime setback to Arkansas.

While it’s unfair to say that LSU would have beaten the Razorbacks with a healthy Dorsey, it is fair to open the point up to discussion. The loss to Arkansas threw open the race for the BCS title game and contributed to the havoc that surrounded the final weekend and the controversial bowl selections. Fortunately, the cheap shot didn’t completely ruin LSU’s chances, and Dorsey could be back to closer to full strength for the championship matchup against Ohio State. But hopefully the SEC will consider harsher sanctions against such plays in the future—instead of leaving it up to the teams to levy retaliation in future meetings.