Texas Tech defensive back CJ Baskerville is accusing Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona of talking trash after an intentional dirty move during Friday’s college football bowl game. He is not taking away from the Razorbacks’ win but he will not allow the ugly behavior to go unchecked.
Although there is no way to know for sure if Carmona said what Baskerville accused him of saying, the video evidence from the play itself is as definitive as it gets.
The incident took place with two minutes left in the fourth quarter when Arkansas held a 39-26 lead at the time. It ran the ball up the middle for a short gain.
As those who were caught up in the pile slowly got back to their feet, Baskerville stayed down on the ground. Carmona walked over to the senior defensive back, looked down upon him and intentionally stomped on his ankle.
— – (@Spicoli_____) December 28, 2024
He did so on purpose. There is no room for plausible deniability. Here is another look:
— – (@Spicoli_____) December 28, 2024
If that was not bad enough, Baskerville says Carmona did not show any remorse. Rather, he celebrated his disgusting actions and talked trash while his opponent writhed in pain from the ankle stomp.
There’s no denying that Arkansas played a great game last night, I am not taking that away from them. But #55 Fernando Carmona blatantly stepping on my ankle and pressing down on it on purpose is straight up dirty. Proceeds to say “got your b—- a–.” Do better, Arkansas.
— CJ Baskerville
There is no room for this kind of behavior in college football. Although the Razorbacks won the game on the scoreboard, they left the Liberty Bowl with a giant loss. Fernando Carmona is a redshirt junior so he could return to Arkansas in 2025. Should that be the case, Sam Pittman should issue a suspension for the first game of next season.
Neither the head coach, nor the player, nor the university have issued comment on the matter at this point in time. I would say that they are still gathering the facts, but the video is as clear as it gets. Carmona stomped down on CJ Baskerville’s ankle with a clear intent to do so.