USA beats France 82-0 at American Football world championships

The United States played France in American football, and this might surprise you, but the United States won. By a lot. The final score was 82-0, with the United States scoring a touchdown on its first 12 drives before running out the clock to end the game.

The game was part of the IFAF (International Federation of American Football) World Championship, being held in Canton, Ohio.

Team USA had won its first two games of the tournament comfortably -- they beat Mexico 30-6 and beat Japan 43-18 -- but it was nothing like this.

And it's not like France is the worst football team in the world. They beat Australia 53-3, and Australia had previously beat South Korea 47-6. The French will go on to play Mexico in the bronze medal game. It's worth noting that France's starting QB, Paul Durand, was injured in the first few minutes of the game. America is 3-0 and will now face Japan in the gold medal game.

The American team is comprised of recent college graduates not on NFL or CFL rosters, hoping to make an impression.

Some stats:

• Team USA actually slowed down in the second half. They were up 54-0 at halftime, but took a pretty concerted effort to run out the clock in the second half.
• USA outgained France 334 to -26 on the ground and 454 to 75 overall.
• Two USA running backs -- former Iowa State RB Aaron Wimberly and former Texas Tech RB Sadale Foster -- outgained France, recording 117 and 81 yards.
• Team USA did not punt or kick a field goal, scoring a touchdown on 12 of its 13 possessions (the last ended the game)
• If you're wondering why the final score is 82-0 and not 84-0, it's because Team USA went for two on its first two touchdowns, failing twice. They stopped once the score got out of hand.
• This was the biggest win America had ever had in the tournament -- their previous best was a 77-0 win over South Korea in 2007. It's not a record for the World Championship, though. Mexico beat Finland 89-0 in 1999.

After the game, American coach Dan Hawkins said he didn't feel great about it, saying he'd been on both sides of games like this, but that he was proud of the team for continuing to play their best on every snap. French coach Patrick Esume looked forward to the bronze medal game against Mexico, saying he'd be thrilled to beat a country with an active college football scene with his squad, all of whom have full-time jobs outside of football and typically practice only twice a week.

★★★

SB Nation presents: A day without sports can change the world