There aren’t many sports in which 48-0 is a respectable scoreline. American Football is certainly not one of them. Scoring 40+ points is pretty great, but not necessarily that out of the ordinary – it happened a total of 36 times across the 2024 NFL season (including the playoffs). Comparatively, there were only two complete-game shutouts in that season, and the first one was the two hundred and forty-first game of the season. So when Cambridge came to Uni Parks, and lost by that 48-0 scoreline, hopefully it puts the trouncing into perspective for those of whom are [rightly] confused about the sport in general. Perhaps it gets worse still, in the knowledge that this marked an improvement for Oxford after only winning 48-3 last year, away at Cambridge.
The stage was well set as I strolled over with my friend from college. With an almost beating sun overhead, I had managed to convince him to come out to support another one of our college mates – he had been telling us about the season all year, so it only made sense to come out with the culmination of all his efforts was dropped on our doorstep. Mere moments after settling down, and while discussing the rules, I’m trying to explain turnovers. Thankfully, a sprightly pick from Davis Kline gave my explanation a visual example. Formerly of Princeton’s ‘Football’ team, the Millsap Scholar, who’s studying Classics at Somerville College, took on the role of vice-president of the club this year.
From there, the game slipped further and further out of Cambridge’s grip so quickly that you would be forgiven for thinking that washing your hands with Vaseline was a weird Tab ritual. As Oxford recovered the ball, Micaiah Bell ran the ball into the end-zone with the very first play of the game for Oxford’s offence. Bell is the other Millsap Scholar, having previously played at Harrison Hoya High and Harvard, before bringing his talents to the mighty Uni Parks. It’s only a slight step down from the 30,023 seater Harvard Stadium to the raked temporary seating that held only the most diehard of fans. It certainly wasn’t a step down in performance from Bell though.
Kline would continue to dominate the offensive side of the ball as quarterback, racking up multiple passing and rushing touchdowns before the half was even over, but his defensive efforts were picked up by other contributors to make his life just a little bit easier. Interceptions from St Anne’s netball star, Sebastian Quintero Cruz, and Genesis Nsenga kept the ball in Oxford hands as much as possible, the former putting to use his experience gained from time at the London Blitz and Spanish U19 teams. Having previously been ranked as the eighth top Spanish prospect (according to 1stLook Sports, a page dedicated to international American Football players with over twenty-four thousand followers), it’s unsurprising that Cambridge struggled against his domineering force at linebacker. With five more years of medicine before him, it feels like Cambridge have barely scratched the surface of the terrifying play they’ll face at his hands, until his eventual graduation.
By half-time, the score was already out of reach, only a blocked extra point offered any kind of resistance or consolation. As if transposed directly from their American counterparts, they celebrated their minor success with somewhat unwarranted vigour (considering how bad the scoreline was by that point), but it felt harsh to scrutinise their small win that harshly. I wouldn’t have been able to predict it before the game, but I had been moved to sympathy by the one-sidedness of the fixture, and hoped that the game would be over as soon as possible so they could take a solemn bus home and try to forget all about it. In fairness to the members of the Cambridge Pythons, they took to Vincent’s Club that night to experience all of the sporting culture (which I’m not convinced they have back home) that Oxford has to offer.
The Varsity win caps off a slightly turbulent season that had seen convincing 30-0, 37-6, 35-0 and 47-2 victories over the University of Brighton, the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Reading (the final two results), but also difficult losses 55-6 and 8-6 against Brunel. Whereas the first was a fairly comprehensive scoreline, the Lancers would have hoped to capitalise on a considerable better defensive performance the second time round, but to no avail.
Off the pitch though, it caps off a season of remarkable moments, which included hosting the NFL Academy at the end of October, an organisation that pools some of the best young international talents at American Football into the collegiate level.
