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UPDATE: The POO Awards- Week 6

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Oct. 10, 2010

Every Saturday morning during the high school football season, I use my blog to present my weekly POO Award to the Wisconsin high school team that displays an utter disregard for sportsmanship by Piling on Offensively (POO), or running up the score unnecessarily. Though the team gets the dubious distinction, I primarily blame the coaching staff. The kids just follow orders.

I have personally seen conservatively about 800 high school games. There’s really no way to put this nicely. The average high school coach cares very little about sportsmanship. He’s into winning, winning big, racking up the stats for individual star players so they can make their all-conference teams. They don’t the rules but think they do. And they watch too much Saturday, Sunday, and Monday football that tends to influence their thinking.

Is it any wonder some high school teams try to rub their opponent’s faces in it when they see what Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema did Saturday in their victory over Minnesota? With 6:39 left in the game, Wisconsin scored a touchdown on a James White one-yard run to make the score a comfortable 41-16 in favor of the Badgers. Then Wisconsin did the unthinkable. The Badger offense stayed on the field to go for two, but Wisconsin was unsuccessful (Without the two points, Wisconsin still won, 41-23).  It didn’t sit well with Minnesota coach Tim Brewster and he let Bielema know it when they shook hands at the end of the game.

“I was very upset and I made sure he understood and made sure he knew. I thought he was wrong. There’s no excuse for it period,” said Brewster. “I just told him that I didn’t agree with his decision. And I thought it was a very poor decision by a head football coach. And he’ll have to live with that. Because it was wrong and heck, everybody in here knows it and everybody in college football knows it. It was wrong.”

Minnesota QB Adam Weber added, “It leaves a little bitter taste in your mouth and I know when Wisconsin comes back to Minnesota next year it’s something we’ll probably remember for these younger guys.”

Bielema’s move wasn’t classy or smart. He can argue all he wants about how “the card” that coaches use to determine what the score margin in a game calls for on the conversion after a touchdown predicated a try for two. How about common sense? How about using your own brain?

There reportedly is bald blood between Bielema and Minnesota. So you take it out on the young players?

In situations like this, there’s usually payback. If the Gophers turn around and shove our faces in it some Saturday afternoon, we have Bielema to blame.

Bret Bielema gets a special POO Award this week.

Analysts flag Bielema