Future of college football spring games? Ole Miss’ blueprint is fun and mostly football-free

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OXFORD, Miss. — Joey Chestnut scarfed down hot dogs. Monte Kiffin got pushed in a golf cart race. Sororities competed in a tug-of-war championship.

On a beautiful, 80-degree day inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, this looked like the future of spring games: Show very little actual football, focus on the fun and try to escape without any injuries. There would be no opportunity to over-analyze how well the Ole Miss backup quarterback looked, as many fanbases will surely do following other spring games.

Instead, fans saw a slam dunk contest featuring football players, a disgusting amount of hot dogs consumed in six minutes, and a little seven-on-seven flag football. Chestnut, who showed up after Rebels coach Lane Kiffin slid in his direct messages with an invite, ate 20 hot dogs in 90 seconds and then broke down his performance in easily the most memorable of any post-spring game press conference in the country. Evidently, a bun got stuck in his throat, which momentarily slowed him down.

“There’s a lot of technique to hot dog eating,” Kiffin explained.

It had the look and feel of a circus, perfectly fitting with Kiffin, college football’s greatest showman, at the helm. Long an offensive X’s and O’s innovator and now the sport’s Portal King, Kiffin was using his unique brain to twist a long-staid format desperately needing an update.

“Really, the value of spring games, in my opinion, is overrated because you don’t show many plays on offense or defense,” Kiffin said. “Most people don’t unless they are trying to win the fans over or TV over with the game. You really don’t get a whole lot out of it.”

Ole Miss didn’t release an official attendance, but the feeling was that it easily exceeded anything experienced during recent spring games. No, it…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/future-of-college-football-spring-games-ole-miss-blueprint-is-fun-and-mostly-football-free/

Author : John Talty

Publish date : 2024-04-14 23:22:20

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