:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60751685/Mike_Davis.0.jpg)
The 2013 Iowa State-Texas matchup at Jack Trice Stadium has already been mentioned once in this series, but the non-fumble wasn’t the only awful thing to happen during that game.
Late in the third quarter, Texas was on Iowa State’s goal line, looking to punch the ball in to take a 24-20 lead. They indeed did so on the play, but this happened away from the ball:
Texas WR Mike Davis dove directly at the knees of Deon Broomfield in an apparent attempt to cut block a defender that was 15 yards away from the play, and pretty much walking around. This is clearly a dirty hit that could have seriously injured Broomfield, but all can be forgiven as long as Davis just admits that he was wrong, and apologizes to Deon.
Is that what happened? Not even f***ing close.
First, Mike Davis took to Twitter to defend his actions.
I play to the whistle ..... Sorry I was taught that.
— Mike Magic Davis (@MikeDavis_1) October 4, 2013
Then, in a statement to the media, Davis continued to insist he was in the right:
“If we have another run-pass situation, I’d do the same thing,” Davis told reporters Monday. “If the DB’s loafing, he deserves to get cut.”
”It was crazy,” Davis added. “I think people blew it out of proportion and took it too far. It really wasn’t that bad.”
He wasn’t alone, as his coach, Mack Brown, defended his receiver.
Mack Brown strongly defending Mike Davis' block, thought Davis didn't hear whistle. "I thought it was competing."
— Max Olson (@max_olson) October 4, 2013
After the Big 12 issued an official reprimanding of Mike Davis for the cheap shot, both Mack Brown and Davis backpedaled their sentiments, changing their official stance to something resembling “it was the wrong thing to do.”
Mike Davis then released this statement, which reeks of insincerity:
Listen. We understand that in the heat of the game that judgement can be a little cloudy. People make mistakes, they admit they were wrong, and we all move on. HOWEVER, Mike Davis did exactly the opposite of that. Not only did he not apologize until almost a week later (obviously at the direction of either the coaching staff or the university), but he vociferously defended his blatant cheap shot on a player who was nowhere close to being involved in the play.
It’s unlikely that Davis was actually trying to hurt Broomfield with the hit, and I’m sure Mike Davis is a decent man. However, all he had to do to make this go away fairly quickly was simply own up to his mistake, apologize and move on.
Needless to say, this cheap shot, along with the non-fumble, made the 2013 Texas game one of the biggest nut shots in the recent memory.