This Wall Street Journal article appears to be locked but it is not.

You knew this was coming.

https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/oregon-portland-state-84-0-b48f9b2a?st=KaNoNs&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

FEBU

I just came off an Alaska Cruise where I missed this game and the Oklahoma State game. I did not want to watch either game on the DVR. No desire to watch us fall apart in Stillwater and I felt running up 84 points is excessive.

Are you going to tell the kid who doesn't get much playing time to NOT score the touchdown? To Not intercept the ball? To Not sack the quarterback?

Go Ducks.

DL isn't going to pass up opportunities for real game reps, regardless of score or opponents.

It's not against any rules. If people don't like this then change something else. My high school league had a 45 point rule. Once you were winning by 45 the game was over. To avoid this one time to get more reps our coach called a play "bad snap" to turn the ball over to the other team so we could play some more.

Then there was the time we played Oregon School for the Deaf, and it was dangerous playing a team that couldn't hear the whistle, so we 45'd them as fast as possible.

Every single rep in front of 60,000 fans and a live television audience matters. When you are put in a situation where your talent and experience can make the difference between winning and losing—between achieving your goals or just "playing the game"—you have to take it. Not taking advantage of those opportunities is foolish from a performance perspective.

Besides, easing up does nothing to build the esteem of your opponent. As if losing 55-0 is somehow more virtuous than losing 84-0?

Come on, people!

Furthermore, if you stop playing before the game is over, you are robbing PSU players of the opportunity of a lifetime. What if one of their bench players makes a spectacular interception in the end zone and gets noticed by a school willing to spend NIL money on a defensive back? Or what if a PSU linebacker stands up Tradirian Ball at the goal line and catches the eye of an OSU defensive staff member?

Would you rob them of that opportunity (perhaps of a lifetime) because of a false sense of athletic chivalry?