Rivalries be damned, the game of college football should never, and can never, be more important than the people who are a part of it.
Last night we saw the USC Trojans mar the great sport that we all love as linebacker Desman Stephens II made a "disgusting" play, as Oregon head coach Dan Lanning put it, on the Ducks' quarterback Dante Moore.
Not only was it a late hit, but it was also a dirty one, and it knocked Moore unconscious. As the Ducks' offensive leader was lying on the field, being tended to by training staff and paramedics, Stephens was seen dancing on the sidelines, celebrating what he had just done.
Then, he was seen smiling on the sidelines, dapping up his teammates as Moore was being placed on a stretcher to get carted directly to an ambulance.
Read more: Dan Lanning provided the promising Dante Moore update every Oregon fan needed to hear
He was called for targeting and ejected from the game, but he remained on the sidelines, even after halftime, because he's "on the team," to use the words of USC head coach Lincoln Riley.
Desman Stephens II must be held accountable for his actions vs. Oregon
The entire sequence of actions and subsequent events that took place were completely unacceptable from the Trojans.
Stephens should be held accountable for his actions. He just sent a young man to the hospital and was celebrating it while Moore lay unconscious. That's not just morally reprehensible on a football field; it's morally wrong in life in general.
Yes, USC and Oregon have a lengthy rivalry, and there is always an additional amount of distaste between the two teams when they share a field, but it should never unfold like this.
Even the NBC halftime analysts and commentators should be put in their place for how they spoke about the incident, placing blame on Moore instead of further calling out Stephens for the blatantly dirty hit. Particularly Chris Simms, after he called it a "Debby Downer" call. Are we kidding? A human being was just sent to the ER, and we're gonna call it a Debby Downer???
Yes, football can be violent. It's a sport of 11 men going up against 11 men and hitting each other as hard as possible. However, there is a reason targeting has been turned into a penalty. There is a reason you cannot hit a defenseless player, much less one who is already on the ground after initiating a slide.
These football players are not just athletes; they are humans, and the actions that Stephens took during and after the play are truly sickening.
Riley clearly does not have a grasp or a handle on the kind of people his players are, and when Lanning said that Oregon's "guys respect the game," he was absolutely in the right as he called out the Trojans for how terribly they handled the situation.
College football as a whole needs to do better... be better, and that can start with Riley and USC holding their player accountable for how he behaved in that game.
The Ducks went on to win the game, dedicating it to their fallen leader, and afterwards, their emotions were overflowing as they shared their love and well wishes for Moore.
Also read: Dakorien Moore reveals the fire USC’s dirty hit on Dante Moore lit under Oregon
"Man, all we were saying on the sidelines was just, 'Do it for [Dante],'" wide receiver Evan Stewart said after the game. "That's our brother; we love him... That's one of my best friends... That just made us want to do it even more... That's for 5; this is for 5."
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