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Syracuse head coach Fran Brown responds to question about 'fake injuries' in game against Tennessee

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 6:28 PM ET

The matchup between the Tennessee Vols and the Syracuse Orange this past weekend in Atlanta featured quite a few stoppages in play due to injury.

Some of the injuries were absolutely legitimate -- both teams had a couple of players that didn't return to action after going down (Rickey Gibson and Jaxson Moi for Tennessee and Devin Grant and Berry Buxton for Syracuse).

There were more than a couple of injuries for both teams, however, that looked like efforts to slow down the opposing offense.

ESPN's Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick call out Syracuse (and Tennessee) for "faking injuries"

Riddick: "They're trying to crack down on this kind of thing ... this one to me looked suspicious."

"If you're serious about getting this out of the game, you have to call that." pic.twitter.com/xB9JwDPWRw
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 30, 2025

Starting this season, teams can be hit with a delay of game penalty or charged with a timeout if a player goes down after the ball is spotted.

Neither Tennessee nor Syracuse was penalized for a fake injury on Saturday.

Syracuse head coach Fran Brown met with reporters on Monday and he was asked about the fake injury accusations (for both teams).

"Tennessee didn't get no flags for any fake injuries, nor did us," said Brown. "So I felt they played good football."

Brown, in general, wasn't interested in making excuses for Syracuse's loss to Tennessee in the season-opener.

"I want to take my hat off to Tennessee once again," said Brown. "They really just beat us....no other reasons, excuses, or things of that nature. I gotta get my team to be more prepared."

Ultimately, fake injuries are part of the culture in college football. It's a loophole that teams are able to utilize to slow down the other team's momentum. Gamesmanship has always been part of college football, and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon.

Fake injuries are frustrating, but nearly every program in the country does it to some extent.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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