Ex-NFL ref and a network analyst propose tweak to college football targeting rule
The first half of Monday night’s Mississippi’s 43-24 win over Louisville led to an outpouring of reaction among fans.
It wasn’t because of the score (Ole Miss led 16-0), but the number of ejections (four).
All were disqualified from the game because of college football’s targeting rule, which “means that a player takes aim at an opponent for purposes of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball.”
Mark Robinson and Lakia Henry of Ole Miss were sent to the locker room for targeting, as were Louisville’s Monty Montgomery and Nick Broeker.
The four disqualifications all took place in the opening half and viewers thought it was too much.
Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, who is now the rules analyst for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” was among those to speak up on Twitter.
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt called for officials to be given the option of not ejecting a player for targeting.
McAulay said he worked for just such a system that would have “two levels of targeting,” but commissioners weren’t in favor of it.
Maybe a change will come if there are more games with multiple ejections on both teams.
For now, McAulay thinks coaches need to teach their players the proper technique for tackling. That means not leading with the crown of the helmet.
