USF head coach Alex Golesh did not appreciate how the college football fans in Memphis treated his players during a loss on Saturday. They booed what appeared to be a fake injury scheme.
He claims otherwise.
This trend of fake injuries in college football is not new. Nor do I know whether these specific injuries were real or not, but there were a lot of conveniently (and suspiciously) timed breaks during big spots.
Memphis came back to beat USF.
The No. 18-ranked Bulls traveled east to Tennessee for what might prove to be the most important “group of six” game of the season. They and the Tigers both had only one loss coming into the weekend.
Both of these teams were in position to make the College Football Playoff with a win as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. It effectively served as an elimination game.
USF jumped out to a 10-point lead at halftime. It further opened that gap in the third quarter to take a 31-17 lead into the final 15 minutes of play. All the Bulls had to do was hold on but they could not do so.
Memphis came storming back with 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the game on a missed field goal in the closing moments.
MEMPHIS COMPLETES THE RALLY‼️
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 25, 2025
The Tigers beat No. 18 USF after a missed field goal in the final seconds 😱 pic.twitter.com/ZMG9H0Lg7z
Quarterback Brendon Lewis threw for 307 yards on 27 completions. The Tigers totaled 450 yards of total offense with 30 first downs on 79 plays to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Alex Golesh claims he did not call for fake injuries.
There was a recurring theme throughout the game on Saturday. It seemed like every time Memphis got rolling on offense, a defensive player for USF went down with an injury.
The injury stoppage forced the Tigers to slow down their tempo so they could not go as fast as they wanted. Fans booed.
Lane Kiffin found himself at the center of controversy last season when Ole Miss would use fake injuries as a way to either slow down its opponent, catch their breath, or substitute. College football fans were furious even though it was actually the Rebels’ head coach who advocated for change in the first place.
Greg Sankey and the SEC ultimately added a new rule for fake injuries later in the year, which put an immediate stop to the shenanigans. Maybe the AAC should consider the same?
However, Alex Golesh claims the Bulls’ injuries were not fake. He attacked the opposing fanbase for its behavior after the game.
“I’ve never been at a place where you get booed when a kid is injured,” the head coach said.
Maybe the injuries were real. Maybe they weren’t.
Either way, USF had more than eight injured players go down on the field during the first three quarters of play. They all walked off of the field under their own power. Most of them returned to the game. That number increased to at least 10 with two additional injuries in the fourth quarter.
Memphis fans were tired of the perceived tomfoolery and booed. Golesh obviously did not think that was appropriate.