Running up the score

In North American sports, "running up the score" occurs when a team continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in question and the team is assured of winning. In the United States and Canada it is considered poor sportsmanship to "run up the score" in most circumstances. (Exceptions are listed below.) Sporting alternatives include pulling out most of the team's first string players, or calling plays designed to run out the clock (e.g., in American football, kneeling or running the ball up the middle). The term and the concept is not common elsewhere in the world. Mercy rules are used in many amateur sports, which ends the game when the score reaches a certain point.

The most common negative consequences of running up the score are injuries to a game's starting players, lack of experience for the non-starting players on the team (in those cases where starters are left in a game well after the outcome is certain), and motivating future opposing teams.

Running up the score is considered poor sportsmanship by many fans, players, and coaches but with different opinions how big an insult it is. Allegations of poor sportsmanship are often brought up soon after a team scores multiple times near the end of a one-sided match. However, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden contended that it was not his job to call plays that are inconsistent with his regular offense. He felt that the prevention of further scoring was the responsibility of the opposing team's defense.

Certain coaches are notorious for running up the score to impress coaches and sportswriters who vote in the Amway Coaches Poll or AP Poll.

It is a common allegation that some poll voters simply look at box scores before punching in their votes. When the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) existed in college football, the votes had a huge impact on who went to BCS games, including the national championship. Only by watching the game or game tape (or by careful box-score scrutiny) can a coach determine if a 49–21 score was caused by a fairly one-sided game or the winning team trying to make the score look more impressive when the game's outcome was certain.

...
Wikipedia