One boneheaded decision by a college student may have affected the lives of so many people.
When Ole Miss wide receiver Elijah Moore decided to imitate a dog urinating on the grass, he probably did not expect how costly (and fortunate) it would be to others.
Of course, Moore’s antics left Ole Miss field goal kicker Luke Logan out to dry as Logan would miss the longer-than-expected extra point, giving Mississippi State the Golden Egg.
Moore’s antics, likely, also cost Ole Miss head football coach Matt Luke his job. Luke may have been on thin ice before the game, but a victory over the Bulldogs would have probably let him skate on for at least another season.
Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter’s decision to fire Luke won’t sit well with some Ole Miss fans because it so brightly illustrates the darker side of big time college athletics. The next time someone tells you that college sports are more than just about winning please point to Luke’s firing to silence them.
Still, even though it stinks for Luke, who by all accounts is a fine person, you cannot really blame Ole Miss for what they did. They took advantage of an embarrassing moment, one that made national news, and did what they wanted to do in the first place.
The right person to lift the Rebels into the upper echelon of the SEC may not exist, but of course Ole Miss has to keep looking. Does anyone in Oxford really believe if Luke was granted another season the Rebels would be any closer to winning an SEC Championship? Of course not.
So as long as they continue to play games on Saturday in Oxford, they might as well continue to believe that it is possible to one day return to national glory. The right man must be out there somewhere.
On the other side of pee gate, the story is much brighter.
Rumblings were heard before the Egg Bowl that this may be it for head coach Joe Moorhead. The nine years Dan Mullen spent leading Mississippi State has led Bulldog fans to believe, rightfully so, that Coach Moorhead simply has not met the standard expected in Starkville.
But, isn’t it amazing how seeing your archrival fall in one of the most absurd moments in college football history can lighten the mood?
After all the laughter ended, Moorhead’s sigh of relief was the next loudest noise. He now has another season, it appears, to figure how to beat the Alabamas and LSUs of the world. Good luck.
Luke’s loss is Moorhead’s gain.
If only Moore could have held it in for a few more moments.
David Healy is the sports editor of the Delta Democrat-Times. He can be reached at dhealy@ddtonline.com
