Head Hunting: Is College Football Next in the Bounty Discussion?

With the recent suspensions of several current and former New Orleans Saints for their roles in the alleged bounty scandal, all of the talk in the football world has been about the intentions for players to take out other players.

Today, ESPN's Cris Carter said that he personally put bounties on opposing players that were set out to put him on the sidelines. Carter said that during his 16-year NFL career he often told teammates to protect him from those out to get him.

He admitted Tuesday that the "bounties" were financially beneficial to his teammates, but on Wednesday he clarified his point saying in no way was it a "pay for pain" situation and that the term "bounty" was a poor choice of words.

If this is happening in the NFL, why wouldn't it be happening in the college ranks?

Personally I have seen games where cheap shots are taken, and in many cases, the referees do a good job of keeping order. But are the coaches, players and possibly the alumni or fans shelling out money to college kids to knock opposing players from the game?

In Billy Corben's 30 for 30 on Miami football, it was noted that bounties were put out on top opposing players during their run back in the 80s and early 90s. In some cases, it was rumored that Randy Shannon, then a LB, was one of the players paying out the dollars after the game.

Could this Randy Shannon, the same one that coached the U until this past season, have offered similar bounties during his tenure as the head man?

The bottom line is that it is football.

You go out there, and you want to knock the other guys on their rear ends, and you don't care if they get hurt. You can't tell me that bitter rivals like OSU vs. Michigan or USC vs. UCLA aren't out to get the best players off the field.

There is little doubt that the effects of the so called "Bounty-Gate" will be felt at the college ranks.

Right now college football is fine the way it is, whether guys are going after other guys with malicious intent or not.

If there are any other rule changes to keep the hitting and violence to a minimum, you might as well give them flags and call it intramural football.

What do you think?

What will be the trickle-down effect in the college game?

Do you even care if there are bounty programs in the game?