“Despite changes, football has always remained at heart a blood sport.” Observer’s Khy Champman wrote a piece on November 30, 1999, and termed football to be “choreographed savagery.” Despite changes aimed at improvement and keeping players’ health paramount, blood and “ choreographed savagery ” are still the central themes. The most recent casualty was Iowa’s ace DB after a brutal loss against Oregon.

Both Hawkeyes and Ducks came out with their world-class defenses and shut out the offenses entirely. The result was a grueling tussle of defensive dominance. Amid that, Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa State’s DB, was central to it. He notched up 8 tackles and kept the hopes alive. But by doing so, the 21-year-old still had to give it all, including his blood.

In the post-game presser, a reporter a

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