Adding more football items to the sports notebook

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Austin Allen (8) during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

I’m still clinging to football before diving headlong into basketball, where Class 7A in Arkansas is now 6A except for football, where 7A will remain 7A.

Got that? Me neither.

ANGER IN AGGIE LAND

Rivalries in sports are built on emotions, not trophies.

Exhibit A is the LSU vs. Texas A&M football game that went seven overtimes last week in College Station, Texas.

Texas A&M assistant coach Dameyune Craig celebrated the Aggies’ 74-72 victory by sprinting over to the LSU sideline, where he taunted LSU players and coaches after he was steered away from LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.

Cole Fisher, the nephew of Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who was trying to restrain Craig, shoved an LSU assistant who wears a pacemaker. That prompted Kevin Faulk, director of player personnel and a former standout running back at LSU, to confront Fisher, who exchanged punches with Faulk before Fisher was hit in the jaw by an LSU player.

The SEC responded like it always does, by fining the host school, Texas A&M, $50,000 after its students rushed the field. But there could be action taken by the schools, and if anyone is suspended, Craig, a former LSU assistant who was fired by Orgeron, should be the first to go.

In any case, say hello to the college football newest rivalry, where the rematch between LSU and Texas A&M in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 30, 2019, will be must-see TV.

TOO MUCH OVERTIME?

Overtime games are exciting for the fans but mentally and physically draining for the players.

That’s why SEC commissioner Greg Sankey floated the idea of changing the overtime rules for college football.

“Should there be a limit?” San-key asked during a press conference before the SEC championship game in Atlanta. “We haven’t talked about ties in a while, and yet we still have them in our record books. Are there certain points we say a tie is a sufficient stopping point for this game rather than extending so long?”

It’s a question worth asking again, especially when player safety is a major concern. Three players were on the ground after one play at College Station, two from exhaustion, and quarterbacks for both teams easily ran for yardage in overtime because the defense was too pooped to pursue.

Overtime is limited to one 10-minute period in the NFL, where the players are backed by a powerful union. The question is who’ll stick up for the players if they decide a game that lasted nearly five hours and involved 197 plays is too much for a day’s work, especially when they’re not being paid.

SECOND CHANCE FOR AA IN AAF

Former Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen will get another shot at professional football after a brief stay in the NFL preseason with Tampa Bay.

The Salt Lake Stallions selected Allen off the Memphis roster during a unique “pick or protect” quarterback draft last week. Both teams are members of the Alliance of American Football, a spring league that will begin its inaugural 10-week season Feb. 9. The Stallions picked two more quarterbacks last week, which means Allen will have to perform well just to earn a roster spot.

Former NFL executive Bill Pollian is co-founder of the AAF, and notable coaches in the league include Mike Singletary, Steve Spurrier and Dennis Erickson, Allen’s new coach at Salt Lake. Games will be televised by CBS sports, which will give fans something to watch before the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in March.

BYE BYE, BILL?

Stop me if you’ve read this before; Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is considering retiring.

Snyder’s status has become an annual theme at Kansas State, where the Wildcats slipped to 5-7 in 2018. The 79-year-old Snyder actually did retire once from Kansas State, but he was brought back a second time after Ron Prince was fired in 2008.

Bret Bielma is a former assistant coach at Kansas State who spoke fondly of his former boss before Arkansas beat the Wildcats at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis in 2016. Bielema would likely be seriously considered as a replacement at Kansas State should Snyder decide to retire for good.

Wouldn’t it be fun to watch the former coach at Arkansas face Les Miles, the former coach at LSU who was hired by former Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long at Kansas recently?

Probably not, considering Arkansas fans blame Bielema or Long, or maybe both, for the current struggles with the Razorbacks program. But that scenario would show once again that coaching moves are like antiques, where one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@ nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWARick.