Alabama beat Western Carolina 48-14 on Saturday, one of four SEC vs. FCS games on the slate. The pre-Thanksgiving breather has become something of a tradition in recent years, something Will Leitch defended quite eloquently at Sports on Earth earlier this week.
Most, however, do not share Leitch's point of view. Among those is Kirk Herbstreit, who called the practice "embarrassing" on College GameDay this morning.
Watching that segment in a Tuscaloosa hotel room, apparently, was Western Carolina head coach Mark Spier.
"A guy had a silver spoon in his mouth all his life, Ohio State, primadonna state quarterback talking about, 'It's an embarrassment,'" Speir told AL.com. "He ain't ever coached."
For the record, Lee Corso defended the practice during the same segment, and Mack Brown did as well later in the day on ABC.
"Coach (Nick) Saban had a lot of great things before and after the game about FCS playing the big boys," Speir said. "Alabama needed this game. Like I said, whether they win or lose, Alabama, I think those fans had a good time today.
"I'm just proud of FCS football, I'm proud of our football team, I hope America doesn't listen to a guy who sits behind a mike that hasn't ever done it, with that silver spoon in his mouth, he never had probably a bloody nose or a callous like some of these guys."
Spier ended his spiel with - what else? - a "Roll Tide."
"(You've got a) governor who, until the employment rate went down, he ain't takin' a paycheck," Speir said. "I wish some of those guys behind a (microphone) would work for a living too instead of putting their opinions out there.
"But I love your governor here. I love this program here and I'll give you a Roll Tide."
GameDay was at Harvard-Yale on Saturday, its second visit to an FCS locale in the show's more than two-decade history. No word on its first visit to Western Carolina.