Allow me to be Blount

Postgame punch mars No. 14 Boise State's commanding win over No. 16 Oregon
AP

BOISE, Idaho -- Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount talked before the game about keeping emotions in check. Then he lost his own cool after No. 14 Boise State pushed around its big-conference neighbors.

Kellen Moore threw for 197 yards and a touchdown and the biggest home game in Boise State history became a four-quarter bullying of the No. 16 Ducks, 19-8 on Thursday night, clearing the biggest apparent obstacle between them and a possible second BCS bowl.

D.J. Harper added a 1-yard scoring run for Boise State, but the impressive effort by the Broncos was overshadowed in the postgame scrum when Blount punched Boise State's Byron Hout and was then restrained from fans by police on the field.

"I just apologize to anyone watching that," Blount said. "I just apologize to all of our fans and all of Boise's fans. That's something I shouldn't have done. I lost my head."

Rumors even swirled afterward the Blount would be arrested, but Oregon sports information director Dave Williford said that talk was "absolutely false."

Our position is that we have full confidence in the NCAA that they're going to address that. As far as from a criminal standpoint there's nothing that I'm aware of that we're doing," Lt. Bryan Hagler of the Boise Police Department told The Associated Press.

As the Broncos began celebrating on their famous blue turf, Hout yelled in Blount's face and tapped him on the shoulder pad. That drew an immediate scream from Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, but before Petersen could pull Hout away, Blount landed a right hand to the defensive end's jaw.

Then as Blount was being pulled off the field, he had to be restrained from fans heckling him on the way to the Oregon locker room.

"I couldn't have envisioned anything worse than this right here," said Blount, who set a Ducks record with 17 rushing touchdowns last season.

Unfortunately my cable cutoff from Time Warner took effect last night so I didn't get to see Oregon vs. Boise State or the punch heard round the world. This video pretty much sums it up though. It's unfortunate for Blount because he was supposed to be a Top 10 back this year. Now he must certainly face a lenghty suspension. Oregon may not want to hold him out that long, but if they make the penalty too short, the Pac 10 and NCAA will assuredly step in and intervene.

I kind of feel bad for the kid. That defensive end was trying to antagonize him, but you can't lose your cool like that. And you especially can't start mixing it up with the crowd. This is national TV. Its not 1977 with no TV like it was when my uncle started punching fans at a game in Hawaii. Needless to say though, this isn't a good first step in the Coaches Association's new Sportsmanship effort.

P.S. - Sorry to anyone who took my advice and bet Oregon. That's just one of many bad picks I'll give this season.