Sports

Dirty Foot Stomp To Chest Ignites All-Out Brawl As Tempers Flare At College Football Bowl Game

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Ohio Jacksonville State Brawl Cure Bowl Shay Taylor
ESPN

Jacksonville State did not allow Ohio to get away with unsportsmanlike behavior during the Cure Bowl in Orlando on Friday afternoon. An all-out brawl resulted in an ejection after a not-so-subtle foot stomp followed a vicious wrestling-like takedown.

It was the first fight of the 2024 college football bowl season!

The whole thing started just before halftime when the Gamecocks ran the ball up the middle. Tight end Jacob Barrick tried to set a block on Bobcats linebacker Shay Taylor, which led the latter to throw the former to the ground in a violent manner. He did nothing wrong at first. Taylor’s suplex was legal.

However, the redshirt junior stomped down on Barrick’s chest as he got back to his feet. As you could imagine, that did not go over well with Jacksonville State. Tempers flared and players from both sides went back and forth with some pushing and shoving. Wide receiver Cam Vaughn stepped to pull Taylor away from the pile, which (accidentally) sent the Ohio defender flying to the ground.

Taylor started the fracas when he stomped down on Barrick. Everything that happened after that point was in direct response to his dirty conduct. Here’s another look:

Every single official threw their penalty flags during the brawl. Some of them also threw their hat to reflect a second penalty on the play. They conferred for about seven minutes on how to proceed.

In the end, three Gamecocks were flagged from Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Shay Taylor was ejected.

If we’re being honest, the Bobcats got off easy. Although Taylor was tossed, for Jacksonville State to be more penalized than Ohio does not make a lot of sense. Both teams were equally as involved after the initial stomp sparked the scuffle!

Last year’s Cure Bowl was equally as chaotic, but this year’s fight was just moments away from getting out of hand. The officials did a good job of shutting things down.