Photos: Scene of scuffle between LSU's Kevin Faulk, Texas A&M's Cole Fisher after Tigers' loss
See exclusive photos from the scene of the scuffle between LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk and Cole Fisher, the nephew of Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher.
The fight between the two happened after Fisher allegedly punched LSU analyst Steve Kragthorpe following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, left, and a man identified as Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, break out in a fist fight on the field following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in the 7th overtime, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, left, and Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, get in a fight on the field following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in seven overtimes, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, left, and a man identified as Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, get into a scuffle after the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in the 7th overtime, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, left, and a man identified as Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, break out in a fight on the field following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in the 7th overtime, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, center, and a man identified as Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, break out in a fight on the field following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in the 7th overtime, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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People on the field separate LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, right, and a man identified as Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, after a fight broke out on the field following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in the 7th overtime, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
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LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk, center, and a man identified as Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, break out in a fight on the field following the Aggies' 74-72 win over the Tigers in the 7th overtime, Saturday, November 24, 2018, at Texas A&M's Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M fined $50K for field storming after LSU game; SEC 'in contact' over postgame incident
Texas A&M has been fined $50,000 for its fans storming Kyle Field after the Aggies beat LSU 74-72 in seven overtimes Saturday night, the Southeastern Conference announced Monday morning.
The league also said that it "remains in contact" with both LSU and Texas A&M regarding the altercation that followed the field storming.
Multiple athletic officials have confirmed that LSU analyst Steve Kragthorpe, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, was punched on the field by the nephew of Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, Cole Fisher, who is an undergraduate football student manager at Texas A&M.
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In the SEC's released statement Monday morning, the league said it "has re-emphasized the expectations for sportsmanship before, during and after SEC athletics contests."
As of Sunday, Texas A&M athletic officials were looking into the incident and did not confirm nor deny Fisher's identity. Request for further comment on Monday by The Advocate has not yet been answered.
Financial penalties for field storming were increased in 2015, with the first offense incurring a $50,000 fine, a second offense being up to $100,000 and $250,000 for a third and any subsequent offenses.
The SEC's policy states that field-storming is prohibited "for the safety of participants and spectators alike."
LSU was fined $100,000 when fans stormed the field at Tiger Stadium following the Tigers' 36-16 win over then-No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 13.
LSU analyst Steve Kragthorpe was trying to stop a Texas A&M coach from confronting LSU coaches when he was blindsided by a punch from a cr…
Cole Fisher, the nephew of Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, has been identified by multiple sources to The Advocate as the man who multiple a…
LSU's Ed Orgeron addresses controversial officiating, Steve Kragthorpe-Cole Fisher fight
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron spoke publicly for the first time since the Tigers' epic seven-overtime, 74-72 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday in a Tuesday morning interview on "Off the Bench" on 104.5 ESPN.
At first, Orgeron stood by his comments from Saturday night, that one second should not have been put back on the clock when officials reviewed whether Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond had spiked the football with time left in regulation.
The game had several controversial calls that Orgeron said went mostly A&M's way.
"In 35 years of coaching, I've never used officiating as an excuse," Orgeron said. "There was some bad calls. Four times the game should have been won for LSU. Those calls should have went in our favor and they didn't. There's nothing I can do about that. I felt bad about it. Our guys fought. We should have won the game."
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Orgeron did say LSU could have avoided the calls if they had executed better as a team, including converting a first down on their final offensive drive of the game. Instead, LSU punted and gave Texas A&M a final drive to tie the game.
"We could have made a first down, the game was over," Orgeron said. "Better calls could have made. Better execution. Twenty-nine seconds left, they have no timeouts, we need to stop them."
Asked if the whole night at least sparked a rivalry between LSU and Texas A&M, Orgeron said: "I wish we played them tomorrow."
Statements from both LSU and Texas A&M contest what exactly happened during a postgame scuffle that followed the Tigers’ 74-72, seven-over…
Orgeron also commented on the controversy that followed the game, where there are conflicting accounts from both universities as to what happened after Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher's nephew, Cole Fisher, shoved LSU analyst Steve Kragthorpe.
Kragthorpe had told the USA Today Network on Sunday that "out of nowhere" he "got nailed" and received medical attention from a Texas A&M team doctor.
Then, the Texas A&M University Police Department released a statement to the Houston Chronicle, which said Kragthorpe had retracted his statement that he had been struck and declined medical attention.
Then, LSU senior associate athletic director Robert Munson released a statement that said Kragthorpe had not retracted his statement and that he had gotten an EKG from EMTs in the LSU locker room. Munson said "Steve is a man of the highest degree of integrity and character."
"We're not getting into detail," Orgeron said Tuesday. "Coach Kragthorpe is a very good man. He has Parkinson's disease. He is very dedicated to our university. He has great character. What happened to him, it should not have happened. There was some very unprofessional acts done on that field. I hope the SEC does the right thing about it, and I'm sure they will."
The Southeastern Conference released a statement Monday that said Texas A&M had been fined $50,000 for its first offense of fans storming the field, which also said the league "remains in contact" with both LSU and Texas A&M regarding the altercation.
Texas A&M has been fined $50,000 for its fans storming Kyle Field after the Aggies beat LSU 74-72 in seven overtimes Saturday night, the S…
The game itself was one of the wildest games in the history of college football, and its 146 total points were the most combined in the history of the NCAA.
LSU recorded 496 total yards, and quarterback Joe Burrow tied his career high with three touchdown passes and tied the single-game school record with three rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
Orgeron said he thought offensive coordinator "Steve Ensminger called one of his best games," which included a game plan to not be as restrictive using Burrow as a runner as the coaching staff had been throughout the season.
Other than Burrow, backup Myles Brennan is the only scholarship quarterback on the roster, and Orgeron said Brennan was dealing with a minor injury during the middle of the season that restricted his ability to throw.
Burrow had 29 rushes for 100 yards against Texas A&M.
Rabalais: If you wondered whether LSU's Ed Orgeron was still steaming over the Texas A&M game, he is
Ed Orgeron is still mad as hell about how his LSU Tigers lost Saturday at Texas A&M in seven overtimes, and he does not give a Christmas f…
"We wanted to run him more during the season," Orgeron said. "We were really going through the season with one quarterback. So we couldn't take the chance... We went into the last game saying we were going to run him."
The game had several twists and turns, including a muffed punt by LSU returner Jonathan Giles that was recovered by Texas A&M early in the third quarter. Momentum shifted back toward the Aggies' way, and they scored a touchdown to take a 24-17 lead with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
Orgeron said "we need to get better in that area" of punt returning, and said that starting nickel safety Kary Vincent could return punts.
"Kary Vincent has come to me," Orgeron said. "And he can do it."
Orgeron also brought some clarity to perhaps the most controversial play of Saturday night's game, when LSU strong safety Grant Delpit hit Texas A&M tight end Jace Sternberger and jarred the ball loose during the first overtime.
It was initially ruled an incomplete pass by the officials, and to several viewers it appeared that it could also have been a fumble.
"I was going to call a timeout and challenge it," Orgeron said. "But it was ruled an incomplete pass. You can't challenge an incomplete pass. But, they were reviewing it. They were looking at it, seeing if there would be conclusive evidence. And I could have called a timeout, but the referee told me, 'Coach, you can call a timeout, (but) you're wasting it. There's not conclusive evidence. We looked at it. We reviewed it. You'd be wasting a timeout. But if you want to call one, you can. So I didn't call a timeout."
Orgeron said he talked to the head of SEC officials, Steve Shaw, Sunday morning, who told Orgeron the officiating crew was correct in their procedure. But if it had been initially ruled a fumble, it could have been reviewed.
As the scores piled high to the heavens Saturday night between LSU and Texas A&M, something was in the process of being born that LSU has …
"It was the wrong call," Orgeron said. "They made a mistake."
Orgeron called in from the recruiting trail, and Monday afternoon he tweeted his recruiting catch phrase "Hold That Tiger!" which indirectly means a new recruit had committed to LSU.
No specific announcement from that recruit has yet been made.
Asked about recruiting, Orgeron said it's "been fantastic."
"The guys saw the game," he added. "Everybody was pulling for the Tigers. Everybody saw what happened, felt that we should have won the game."
Rabalais: If you wondered whether LSU's Ed Orgeron was still steaming over the Texas A&M game, he is
Ed Orgeron is still mad as hell about how his LSU Tigers lost Saturday at Texas A&M in seven overtimes, and he does not give a Christmas fig who knows it.
Orgeron made an appearance on the “Off the Bench” radio show Tuesday morning on WNXX-FM 104.5, his first public comments since immediately after the Tigers’ epic and (for LSU) bitter 74-72 seven overtime loss to the Aggies in College Station.
Orgeron launched not one but several barrages at game officials for what he felt were key mistakes, chief among them:
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron spoke publicly for the first time since the Tigers' epic seven-overtime, 74-72 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday in …
• Allowing Texas A&M to spike the ball with :01 left at the end of regulation. He felt it was originally put into play with less than :03 on the clock, which he felt by rule should not have allowed the :01 to be put back on the clock. The Aggies then threw a touchdown pass to tie the game 31-31.
• Ruling a pass in overtime to A&M tight end Jace Sternberger incomplete. Sternberger was hit by LSU safety Grant Delpit, his blow dislodging the ball, after it appeared Sternberger took a couple of steps. Orgeron said the play was reviewed (there was some confusion about that because a review was not announced) but that the wrong initial call was made.
Orgeron said there were four calls he felt were incorrect but did not list them all. Suffice to say, he has thrown one ticked off blanket over the whole game.
“They gave everything they had,” Orgeron said of his team. “There was disgust in the locker room. I was disgusted for them.
“In 35 years of coaching I have never used officiating as an excuse. There were some bad calls. They missed some calls. Four times the game should have been won for LSU. Those calls should have went in our favor. They didn’t. There’s nothing I can do about that. I felt bad about it. Our guys fought. We should have won the game.”
Three thoughts come to mind based on what Orgeron said about the game:
1. Texas A&M fans and probably a lot of national media will call Orgeron’s complaints sour grapes. Perhaps they are, but there is no way to divorce a coach’s intense emotions for his team and for a game, and he is entitled to his opinion. Particularly in the case of the Sternberger incompletion, I believe he has a valid point.
2. There will be some LSU fans who will read and hear his comments and feel more support for him than if the Tigers had won the game Saturday. At least until the next time Orgeron’s team loses a game.
3. LSU had better, as is widely expected, come through with a raise (and contract extension) for Orgeron, because he is about to get fined by the Southeastern Conference.
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The game, the calls and the aftermath, including the postgame melee involving LSU and A&M players and staff members, will insure this one will not simply melt away into the record books. Orgeron’s comments will help insure that no matter what the records are when LSU and Texas A&M meet next November in Tiger Stadium, the pot of gumbo will be at a high boil.
Orgeron said he wishes the Tigers and Aggies could play again tomorrow.
On that point I think everyone can agree.