Flagged for Showboating: Consequences, Dudes

College football, by definition, is conducted by institutions of higher learning.

And it's hardly news that many of those involved in it betray those ideals.

Still, how long is it supposed to take for simple lessons to sink in?

In the wake of Arizona's 31-24 decision over Oregon in Eugene, casual observers and lazy media members are pointing to one particular unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Ducks and wondering why it would even be called in a pivotal moment.

Oregon had just stopped a deep Wildcat drive halfway through the final quarter, apparently holding Arizona to a field goal attempt. The play was a sack by Tony Washington Jr, who then acknowleged the frenzied home crowd's roar of approval like a stage diva:

Laundry dropped. Automatic first. Arizona took the gift and turned it into a touchdown.

Game changer? More like an equalizer. It seems to be forgotten that during the Duck drive that opened the second half, the 'Cats had stopped Oregon on a third-&-five at the Zona 23, seemingly forcing them into a field goal attempt. Woulda been, except for 'Cat DB Jourdan Grandon trashing it up within earshot of the stripes.

Laundry dropped. Automatic first. Oregon took the gift and turned it into a touchdown.

Offsetting stupidity? In a way, but where does it say it's all right for one team to be just as idiotic as the other?

Duck smugness isn't anything new. Hell, Oregon coaches have been talking about cleaning up their penalty count since at least last season's hammering of Virginia:

Obviously, it's not just the players who are slow learners.

This isn't just an Oregon issue. It's about serial stupidity in the face of imminent reprisals that everyone knows are coming. Conferences have long told officials to make a point of flagging this stuff. It wasn't kept a secret from coaches and players. Have Ritalin and Adderall found their way to training tables or what?

In one respect, Washington's penalty pegged the Dumbass-o-Meter more than Brandon's on the principle that he and the rest of Autzen Stadium saw Brandon get flagged and the severity of its result. Clearly, he didn't learn from it.

Most likely, a few others across college football didn't either. Ron White is right about one of the unfortunate by-products of the human condition: