Faking injuries in college football has been around for a while, however, it has now become a pandemic of sorts.

With the rise of spread and up-tempo offenses over the last decade or so, opposing defenses have been faking injuries at a level never seen before, allowing themselves a few seconds of relief. Who’s to blame them? While it is frowned upon, there is no penalty for it.

One team that has been called out for it a lot this season has been Ole Miss, and on Saturday they may have had the fake injury flop of the season.

Usually, fake injuries occur on the defensive side of the ball, but the Rebels were overwhelmed by the Kentucky defense. After the Wildcats forced a fourth down, Ole Miss was contemplating going for it and quarterback Jaxson Dart directed running back Matt Jones to hit the field with an injury to avoid.

“There is very strong wording about being unethical to fake an injury at any time during the game,” College football rules analyst Matt Austin said during the game. “I know the rules-makers have talked about it several times, but as of right now, there’s nothing you in the book can do about it.”

Kirk Herbstreit also recently called out the practice of apparently faking injuries “unethical as hell.”

After two-plus decades of being an enemy to Kentucky fans, Rick Pitino is trying his best to get back in their good graces. This summer he started with a very positive endorsement of Mark Pope and followed it up a few weeks later by announcing he was a donor for the Kentucky football program.

On Saturday the former Kentucky basketball coach shared a message on X with the football team. “Incredible win for UK Football on the road. Big time 💪,” Pitino tweeted.

The tweet was appreciated by the Big Blue Nation, with one fan saying, “It’s amazing how much I’ve grown to love this man again.” On the other hand, Louisville fans were very critical, “Can’t believe we as fans caped for him for so long,” one fan wrote.

Pitino, now with St John’s, is in the twilight of his coaching career. Expected to play a home-and-home series next season, he is on his way to a standing ovation inside Rupp Arena.

There have been some crazy torture bets in college football this year. Ranging from putting a Taco Bell beefy five-layer burrito in a place where the sun doesn’t shine if Kansas State lost to BYU, to eating dog feces if Florida State lost to Boston College.

The latest one, drinking a KFC bucket full of Kentucky bourbon Woodford Reserve if Ole Miss lost to Kentucky. For reference, that is 96 oz or more than half a gallon of bourbon. It takes just 6-7 oz of bourbon for the average person to feel the effects of alcohol.

The Rebels did fall to the Wildcats on Saturday, and the fan is in the process of fulfilling that bet, one cup at a time. Downing eight cups of bourbon since the loss, the man has four more cups to go, with a hard cut-off being Monday night football.

American college football, there is nothing else like it.