The Western Carolina Catamount football team may have lost to number one ranked Alabama on Saturday by a final score of 48-14, but the game and resulting commentary caused quite a ruckus on social media and in the national spotlight.
Western Carolina, coached by third year coach Mark Spier, took the lead on the Crimson Tide off a 75-yard opening drive, punctuated by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Troy Mitchell to Spearman Robinson.
Touchdown Western Carolina! Catamounts score on 2 yd pass & lead #1 Alabama 7-0 http://t.co/Ac7dlMe5wp #WCUvsBAMA
— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) November 22, 2014
Yes – this is real. @WCU #Catamounts pic.twitter.com/A8LRh5Nvc9 — Anthony (@McLeod919) November 22, 2014
WESTERN IS BEATING BAMA 7-0 LETS GOOOOOOO!!!! — Chip Hieronymi (@chipcharles) November 22, 2014
Western carolina leads #1 ranked Alabama 7-0!!!!! — Darius Means (@DMeansBusiness_) November 22, 2014
The touchdown marked an important accomplishment against a strong Alabama defense.
The touchdown is the 1st against Alabama on an opponents opening possession this season! #ProveYourPurple — Catamount Sports (@Catamounts) November 22, 2014
The lead was short lived for the Cats as Alabama took the lead 10-7 by the end of the first quarter. Western was not done scoring however, as an Alabama fumble in the second quarter lead to a 12-yard touchdown pass to Spearman Robinson.
This marked another impressive feat against the Alabama defense. Western Carolina is the 1st team this season to score multiple offensive TDs against Alabama in the 1st half. #WCUvsBAMA — College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 22, 2014 The Tide went on to roll the rest of the game, scoring 31 unanswered points to beat the Catamounts by 34. The drama was not over after the clock hit zero. In the postgame presser, Coach Mark Speir responded to comments made by Kirk Herbstreit about the validity of SEC schools playing FCS opponents in November. Herbstreit, an analyst for ESPN’s College Gameday, said the practice is “the worst thing in college football now”. Speir responded by saying:
“A guy had a silver spoon in his mouth all his life, Ohio State, primadonna state quarterback talking about, ‘It’s an embarrassment’… He ain’t ever coached.”
The comments from Speir caught the attention of many national media outlets.
One coach is none too pleased with Kirk Herbstreit’s comments about the FCS. http://t.co/gsMzqdPfHH pic.twitter.com/mUbbRT0jTN — SB Nation (@SBNation) November 23, 2014
Western Carolina’s Mark Speir slammed Kirk Herbstreit for his comments about FBS-FCS games: http://t.co/OBlhMTdHuI pic.twitter.com/Gl7UxULyFG
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) November 23, 2014
The Catamounts finished their season with a 7-5 record, good for the first winning season since 2005.
