I honestly think that of the three the hit on MHJ might have been the most overturnable(?) but it should probably have still been targeting. The other two seemed like no-doubters. The rule is trash because there is absolutely no consistency in its enforcement.
I'm sorry I see it the opposite. The hit on MHjr to me was just a hard hit (maybe defenseless?) The other 2.....were not crown of helmet but incidental contact. The head is the top of the body between the shoulders so it will be involved to some extent on most tackles. These players are moving sooo fast.
It seems like everytime there is a hard hit we look to see if there is a flag. I think they throw the flag knowing it can be reversed but ( I could be wrong) they really can't look at it afterwards and call a penalty down from the booth.
Everyone will see those plays differently and this is just how I see them.
Actually, they do throw flags on reviewable plays if it's close, better to make the call and have it reviewed to get it right than to miss is altogether....many respectable announcers have said the same thing.
"I don't want to be around average, why be around average!" -UFM
In 2019, Shaun Wade was not flagged for targeting. That call was totally initiated from the replay booth. I have also seen others similar to that in college football. The Georgia defender left his feet (launched) into Harrison. If that isn’t targeting…just take targeting out of the rule book.
The rule should be simplified to throw out those who were obviously head hunting. Wade wasn't head hunting. He is 6'1" and Lawrence is 6'6". Lawrence lowered his head into Wade.
Wade wasn't head hunting. He is 6'1" and Lawrence is 6'6". Lawrence lowered his head into Wade.
“Head hunting” isn’t part of the rule. Leading with the crown of the head is and that is what Wade did. Lawrence lowering his head does not take out targeting. Just look at the targeting call on Fields.
I know its not part of the rule as it is now. That's why I said the rule should be simplified to head hunting means you're thrown out, incidental contact means you stay in the game and maybe get unnecessary roughness. Or to put it another way, you hit like Tatum and Lott did back in the day you get thrown out (sad to say but need to protect the health of players to prevent CTE).
That's why I said the rule should be simplified to head hunting means you're thrown out, incidental contact means you stay in the game and maybe get unnecessary roughness
What is the definition of head hunting? Isn’t it called targeting today? Lead with the crown of the helmet?
Not only did he launch, AZ, but Harrison was defenseless. I mean, what the actual fuck are we doing here??
Guy suffers a concussion. Not targeting. USC-Tulane both guys get injured. Not targeting. Some random ass tackle in a game from Week 3 where all players involved pop up like nothing happened. Nope! You're outta here because that was a dangerous hit! What's the point of the rule if the fucking players aren't even being protected???
Every living OSU fan has a winning record against TTUN.
They called "targeting." The hit met all the requirements of "targeting" which dozens of posters have posted the rule that includes "launching" etc. THE REVIEW should have been to decide whether or not to EJECT the defensive player out of the game or not, NOT to overturn the call altogether. MHJ was absolutely "defenseless" and CLEARLY took a hit that concussed him as we lost him from the game. Bottom line is just that. They're trying to protect the players, and they did not. We lost the best player in the country for the rest of the game.
The indicator was the helmet and head snapping back the ref saw it and threw the flag without hesitation..then look up defensless...he was by definition...finally, leading with arm, shoulder, or head as per the rule when the player is defensless...i.e. in this case a receiver concentrating on a ball in mid air...clearly targeting. Bullshit call, bullshit award of defensive mvp...did I mention he launched as well and never tracked the ball just aimed for MHJ....bush league. Fix it by pulling the DQ part until second infraction...this should have been 15 and an automatic 1st down period. Ultimately football is a violent game but this hit is why the rule exists period.
Pretty fuking obvious to me the replay official threw the game. Even with all that, if we could've gotten 10-15 more yards, the Buckeyes would be preparing for the national championship. I don't believe the best team won and you'll never convince me otherwise.
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
I think all 3 were disputable in one way or another. Could go either way. However, I have ZERO doubt that in any of those situations if it was a buckeye defender, all 3 would be called and confirmed as targeting.
I think the third hit is the most overturnable. The other angle showed facemask to facemask contact on player who was running. This seems on the no call side of what I explicate on the TTUN hit. Penalty maybe but not ejection and suspension though.
TTUN hit was also a runner. May technically have been targeting but it was one of those that calling always seems against "The Spirit" of the rule. This one is in the middle of the gray area for me. Defender was trying to get low though he did not have his head up. Usually I see that called targeting though presumably so the defender gets his head up for his protection. I'm fine either way on that one lean to probably should have called. Penalty but the guy doesn't get ejected and suspended?
MHJ hit was pure head hunting. Might not have technically been hit to the head or neck but that is pure intent to fuck him up. MHJ is defenseless and the dude led with the helmet no matter where it lands and made no play on the ball or trying to get his hands through to break up the pass. Pure intent to harm. Exactly what "The Spirit" of the rule is meant to stop. Should not have been overturned and should have been one of the quickest call confirmations ever. Ejected and suspended.
But that's how I see it and that and an empty sack is worth the sack.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
The hit on the UM player is an interesting conundrum for me. That hit is a penalty because of the danger to the tackler. I find it hard to accept a penalty (15 yards)to the opposing team because you endangered yourself. I can see removal from the game (perhaps) but why should the other team get yardage because of it since there is no harm or disadvantage to them.
If you are trying to make things safer there needs to be "punishment" when a player acts unsafely. Yards awarded to the opposing team is the punishment for infractions in football. You want to eject the guy for that one with no penalty yards?
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
Everyone’s missing the fine print of these rules. ‘If OSU is getting out of reach, the call will be made to stop that.’ In 2019 and this weekend we saw the rule play out exceptionally well. End of debate!
I heard an official during one of the games specifically say that the NCAA this year has told all officials that targeting calls need to have the very top of the helmet hit the helmet of an opposing player. Hell, I thought the idea was to prevent head injuries, period.
First and goal at the five and Arch is getting the ball.
Everyone gets hung up on the helmet to helmet. Thanks to a timely post by TCM earlier this week, we know the rule specifically includes use of the shoulder, arm and hand to attack the head of the opposing player.
MHJ was hit with the shoulder directly into the helmet. Definite targeting by their own damn rules. At the very least, should have been a 15 yarder for unnecessary roughness or personal foul or something. Either way, we get the ball inside the 3 yard line, a new set of downs and very likely another TD, which seals the game. Even if it ends in a field goal, we burn more clock and they don't have time to score 2 TDs. It literally changed the outcome of the game. (As did several other plays). Once again, we got screwed by poor replay officiating.
Of course, most fans are clueless - no surprise there since NFL and college rules differ and most know what they know from TV and chatting with friends.. This is a solid summary: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/01/college-football-targeting-ejection-rul... If you really want the details beyond this, read the rulebook and look at note 1 and note 2 at the end for the exact criteria, but this summarizes it pretty well. It will help so you're not the next guy saying "it's not targeting because he didn't lead with his helmet" or "it's not targeting because it wasn't helmet to helmet". As you can see it's much more than that.
The bigger issue is that the referees, as sadly all Ohio State fans know. Replay officials seem to interject their opinions instead of simply applying the criteria listed in the article above. The bias of college officials comes through on this call more than any other reviewable call by a wide margin. For that reason in the playoff there's no way that officials from the conferences represented in the other playoff game should be handling replay. Case in9 point 2019, SEC officials obviously did OSU no favors (Targeting & Scoop and Score plays) setting up what most would see as the weaker opponent for LSU in the final . Not just Scarlet colored glasses: 2022 Michigan got the same treatment from the SEC booth (Targeting & Over turned TD) setting up TCU for Georgia. The NCAA needs to do better on who they select. It will admittedly be harder with 12 teams in the playoff but some conflicts of interest are just obvious.
Always debate over the refs calls. They called it, they didn’t call it. We examine the players and coaches and talk about execution. Well if the refs don’t execute, that has repercussions too. Bowers OB and the no-call on MHJ…huge ramifications.
Does anybody believe that the hit on MH wouldn’t have been called if it was a Georgia player hit by a Buckeye player? I don’t recall a targeting call on an Ohio State player EVER being overturned after a review. Maybe I missed it?
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
This year, can’t recall a Buckeye DB being in position to have the opportunity to target a receiver. They’re always chasing from behind! Easy down voters, I’m kidding. But I’ve said for a long time, if football was serious about eliminating the big hits, they’d eliminate zone coverage. You can’t target when your playing man.
I vaguely recall one targeting call against a Buckeye opponent in the past four or five seasons. Game was more or less out of hand in favor of the Buckeyes and there was pretty much no doubt about the call. I seem to think it was similar hit to the TTUN hit shown in the Skully on Fields or Haskins (I don't think it was all the way back to JT) and he was giving himself up though not being brought down by anyone. A Minnesota game not the snowy dilly bar huge run for JT one? I can't let go of "maroon uniform" but I do not have perfect recall. I do not recall any questionable or on the line calls with hits on Buckeyes going the Buckeye way.
Vague recollections also of one or two either way calls going for the Buckeyes though none of those in big games.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
That is not the one I was thinking of but clearly one that went in our favor. I would also consider that one "indisputable" so I don't think they could "get away" with not calling that one.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
Does anybody believe that the hit on MH wouldn’t have been called if it was a Georgia player hit by a Buckeye player? I don’t recall a targeting call on an Ohio State player EVER being overturned after a review. Maybe I missed it?
Really dude??? All crews cheat against us? Come on. Seriously
Right -- refs can swing a game between two competitive teams with a handful of calls (or less). In this case (and as was the case against Clemson), a single official has unilateral authority to change what already happened on the field. Think it's important to recognize just how dangerous that is in a sport so rife with passion, bias, regional loyalties stretching back to the Confederacy, blatant conflicts of interest, etc.
But yeah, in this situation, even assuming the review official believed the call on the field was legitimately wrong -- which he must've had some NASA-funded camera that only he could see to determine no contact with the head/neck -- think he also had to essentially ignore the standard of review -- i.e., the applicable rule for a video review. So any way you cut it, IMO, it was the wrong decision by the official.
Have the replay booth official explain his reasoning. Let both head coaches be offered the chance to rebut if they want to. The replay booth official should not be allowed to act as some all knowing judge that can't be questioned.
Have the replay booth official explain his reasoning. Let both head coaches be offered the chance to rebut if they want to. The replay booth official should not be allowed to act as some all knowing judge that can't be questioned.
So you keep going back and forth with coaches challenging the call? That would take 20 minutes. No thank you! 3:45 games are already waaaaaaaaaaaay too long. At some point SOMEONE has to make a decision- good or bad.
I'd fundamentally change a lot of things that are somewhat relevant to this issue. Eliminate arbitrary "rankings" in favor of something more similar to the NFL -- thus lessening a lot of the bias we get regarding conference/region/etc.
Increase transparency of the review process -- don't put it in one guy's hands who doesn't have to provide any explanation whatsoever. Make it be consensus of 3 people or something similar. Require a brief explanation for any conclusion based on review.
Also, it's 2023. Football's lack of cameras with appropriate angles to make these calls clear-cut is absolutely inexcusable -- and, TBH, seems intentional to keep the power to call whatever they want.
Alternatively, just get rid of replay altogether. I don't think it's made getting the big calls right any more likely. And, TBH, think it's decreased the overall quality of officiating.
All of that said, I don't have the money, wisdom, or behemoth apparatus of the NCAA, CFB, etc. So one would think one or all of those organizations could devote some resources to fixing these issues. But they don't.
Video review of targeting calls needs transparency,the replay official should be scrutinized over questionable judgement.
After the incident last night (I know not the same) hopefully player safety will be brought to the forefront even more.
Pray for Damar Hamlin,his family and the Bills and Bengals.
I believe if they really, really cared about player safety, a review board should look at every targeting call on a weekly basis, especially calls that are reversed. IMO, if the reviewing officials overturn a call incorrectly, they should be punished in some form or fashion. This is serious stuff.
I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. I'm trying to win football games-- Woody Hayes
I can see both value and negativity with a board review. I don’t think officials on the field should worry about making, or not making, a call because days later a board, that has the benefit of watching the play countless times in slow motion without the in game pressure, is going to say how they endangered a player’s life. The replay booth is a different story, the booth doesn’t have the same conditions as the guys on the field. I think a board would add value, especially overturning a call on the field. Even if it was in favor of the player injured.
I've said for quite a while now that booth calls should go to a centralized staff in a control room somewhere. They have the technology to do it and it would at least be more consistent.
The replay does go to a centralized staff in a control room. For example, the Shaun Wade call was made from the SEC crew in Birmingham, Alabama. I would think that the call on Saturday was made from the league office of the Pac12 in San Francisco. Each league has a centrally located crew that has the power to overturn calls on the field and the replay crew is from the same conference as the officiating crew.
Excellent point about transparency. We should see the exact clips that the official is viewing and they should be miked up for the audience. We know they have a mike because it’s used every call, so turn it on during the most controversial reviews.
Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, O HI O.
Still pissed off with the officiating in the Peach Bowl which cost us the game, IMO, but damn proud of the way CJ and the healthy Buckeyes played. Georgia had every built-in advantage. My heart is broken, but imagine how the players must feel after all the hard work they put in.
I watched the Rose Bowl yesterday and as it turned into a rout, left it on but became disinterested and started working on my 500 piece puzzle. I wasn’t paying much attention as the Bills/Bengals game came on, next. Until that player went down. It was just shocking to see him fall to the ground like that and CPR being administered. It definitely puts things in perspective. Prayers to Damar Hamlin for a full recovery.
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
I will never understand the concept of drinking straight carbonated water, with or without alcohol. When I get that at McDonald's, it means the machine was broken.
Also surprised they allow Google Pay in California, I thought Apple owned the state.
Your signature will be publicly displayed at the end of your comments.
Seems the dumbasses just keep coming out of the woodwork. However, I forgot you don't ever make mistakes and walk on water. So, I'll say to you in retort........FO.........hahahaha
Still pissed off with the officiating in the Peach Bowl which cost us the game
Officials didn’t give up 41 points. Officials didn’t give up a 76 yard TD. Officials didn’t miss a game winning FG. Officials didn’t get outscored 18-3 in the 4th. That’s just sour grapes.
I'm pretty proud of our Buckeyes effort against big, bad unbeatable Georgia. After the michigan debacle, they regrouped and beat the odds and almost beat the number 1 team. Injuries and bad calls are part of the game so I won't go there. In spite of the odds and difficulties, they almost stole it. Yes, the defense needs work but we can compete with the SEC's best.
Noah Ruggles has nothing to be ashamed of in that game. CJ Stroud was amazing.
I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. I'm trying to win football games-- Woody Hayes
The biggest issue is that these calls by the referees decide who wins and loses games. You can argue the fact that you shouldn't complain about calls or no calls all you want. Rules applied to the sport should be rules abided by in every game all the time. Not when someone decides to refuse to do it. I am really getting jaded watching it happen and I cannot imagine how the players feel.
Judgement calls are always going to have some inconsistency, unfortunately. Been that way with PI calls forever. Me and the hard core OSU fans thought it was targeting live. Watched it a few more times, decided it wasn’t. I don’t think some on here are capable of this level of objectivity.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
My biggest issue is they immediately called it targeting. There is nothing at that point but to confirm or deny that was the penalty. If they would have called unnecessary roughness then said it was being reviewed for targeting, they could have kept the penalty and let the player stay in the game.
Correct. But surely you have seen targeting calls over turned no? This is what I think often happens. You see a vicious hit live, but It happens so quick, so you throw the flag to determine if it was targeting. I don't think this is like other calls where there is a presumption that the call on the field stands. And that is a good thing, because you don't what players ejected if it doesn't meet the criteria, but you just couldn't tell live because of game speed. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it looked to me like he neither led with the crown or made forcible contact to the head or the neck area. I do think he was a defenseless receiver, but that obviously alone isn't enough, otherwise you would never be able to hit a receiver at the moment he was trying to make a catch and he had to extend and couldn't protect himself. I think the head injury was caused by going to the ground. If others see it differently, that's fine, just trying to be honest, did't think it was targeting.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
Just saying if they call personal foul for defenseless player (which I believe he was) and then check for targeting, you can still keep the personal foul penalty and not eject the player. Yes, I have seen these calls get overturned but also seen calls that didn't look like targeting get called from the booth after the fact. My thought is if you called it targeting, there is only 2 options. Targeting and ejection or no penalty at all. If you call personal foul and look for targeting, there are 3 options. Personal foul stands and the 2 options for targeting are decided.
That is not correct. The flag was thrown for targeting. Defenseless player isn't a foul, it is a component of targeting, and alone, is not targeting. If a player is defenseless, you still have to have contact deemed inappropriate (use of crown of helmet, launching, contact with head or neck). None of those 3 were present, so flag was picked up. You used to be correct, the flag used to stand even if the targeting was removed (thus no ejection). My understanding is they changed that, which is why the flag was picked up.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
The biggest issue is that these calls by the referees decide who wins and loses games
It’s a 60 minute game. Great teams overcome adversity. Even though we didn’t win, we overcame adversity. Whoever makes the great plays in great moments wins. It’s simple.
All we’ve learned from these targeting calls is they don’t care about player safety. Every single replay ref for these three calls should be fired. Every single one is inexcusable.
Overturning these does make it look like the rules are all about "optics" as long as it doesn't go against Vegas or E$ECPN's interests or the narrative or whatever you want to call "not cheating/rigged you paranoid crybaby who blames officials for your loss but if it is cheating/rigged this is what it looks like because you're only paranoid if they're not out to get you and you can't prove they're out to get you."
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
Replay booth is unnecessary. All replays are viewed by the ref on the field too at the same time…why? Leave it up to the official who called it and the head of the crew on the field. I hate that some dude in Pittsburgh made this game changing decision.
Im I’m NJ and people curse when they hear the name Arthur Blank, an RU grad who never gave a cent to his alma matter. That’s his legacy and his franchise is trash.
Going semi-conspiracy theorist here… they want targeting to be as vague as possible so the refs have as much control on the outcome of the game as possible. It’s the only way I can think that makes sense why these calls are all so differently enforced.
Targeting penalty is a good idea completely messed up in reality and has been from the beginning, Both semis had what most fans would consider obvious calls overturned.
As far as the Falcons tweet, unfortunately social media rewards hot takes so we get idiots who take things too far. I'm sure whoever posted that thought they were being cute.
They need to do away with the rule as it stands. Flag it for unnecessary roughness and move on. After a certain number (2 or 3?) in a season, that player is subject to a review by whatever governing body wants to review it, and can be suspended. Each hit would also be individually reviewed, and hits that are flagrant could warrant a suspension in itself.
Another problem with MHJr hit was the unfortunate commentary by that piece of shit Fowler. Marvin is literally knocked out on the field when Fowler opines “that’s not targeting.”
Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, O HI O.
Fowler is a total ass. I muted the game for minutes at a time to give myself a break from him. He was at his worst on Saturday and that’s saying a lot. Seemed subdued and pretty uninterested calling the Rose Bowl though.
I think they changed the crown of the helmet definition to be only the very top of the helmet used to impact the other players head or neck area. But I think defenseless player rules are still in effect and I think MH jr was defenseless. He was trying to catch a ball and that’s defenseless by definition. So a shoulder to the head or neck area of a defenseless player is targeting.
My question is why does the booth have the final say? Perhaps a change could be that the onfield ref works with "the booth" to review and perhaps change the call, with further video evidence from other angles. But the final call remains on the field. That would restore accountability to the process and eliminate the shadowy dude in Tuscaloosa making the game changing call.
Stroud played a very good game and I will say throws as pretty a pass as I have seen but you don’t get included on the list of best QBs ever at OSU when you went 0-2 against TTUN and added zero hard ware to the trophy case. Nobody is going to remember Stroud for accomplishments at OSU because there weren’t any.
I think CJ Stroud earned great affection and respect for his valiant effort against Georgia. From this, he can build a wonderful future and cultivate his Buckeye legacy. CJ Stroud was a great Buckeye and I am glad he played for our team.
Hold your head high, CJ. You're a Buckeye, forever! That's one of the best ways to be, in life.
i don’t know why you were downvotes but you’re spot on. You hear former players always discuss how many championships/ gold pants they won. CJ has none!
Prayers go out to Hamlin and his family. Hoping for a recovery. I was watching to see Burrow pull out a victory for the Bengals and ended the night just be thankful. Everything seems so small today. These guys go out weekly and put their lives, health on the line for a pay check and our entertainment. Puts things back into perspective.
CJ was an absolute beast...you can't give up 18 points in the 4th quarter, especially after playing so well in the 3rd--so this is on the defense (ie Knowles)...this loss isn't on Ruggles...and I'm thrilled Coach Day is giving up his play calling duties to focus more on the complete package (ie again, the defense).
I will never understand seeing what I witnessed in live action and then several times how the booth overturned that call. The officials immediately threw the flag, looked like the head/shoulder area, the guys own teammates were telling him that he shouldn’t have done that, and MHJ is out on the ground.
Also, the significant impacts it had on the game. A first and goal negated and MHJ medically benched gave Georgia the life it needed on defense.
I will never understand seeing what I witnessed in live action and then several times how the booth overturned that call. The officials immediately threw the flag, looked like the head/shoulder area, the guys own teammates were telling him that he shouldn’t have done that, and MHJ is out on the ground.
Also, the significant impacts it had on the game. A first and goal negated and MHJ medically benched gave Georgia the life it needed on defense.
I'm going to give one more compliment to CJ STROUD:
Didn't have JSN since early on.
Lost Marvelous Marvin during a key part of the Peach Bowl.
Egbuka was ultra covered past that point.
RBs were getting banged up (I found this out yesterday).
TOOK THE GAME INTO HIS OWN HANDS AND ALMOST WON IT, AGAINST ALL ODDS.
From your most vocal critic, CJ. I am still awestruck by your performance.
Moving forward? And with extreme prejudice? THE SECONDARY IS GOING TO HAVE TO STEP IT'S GAME UP. AND KNOWLES WILL NEED TO EARN HIS KEEP. Had this team had ALL NINE UNITS STRONG? We'd be making plans to head to LA's "Inland Empire".
I trust that HC Day will be evaluating this very carefully, starting yesterday,
If they really cared about player safety they'd do two things they don't seem interested in:
1. Occasionally throw a flag for targeting / dangerous play on the offensive player. That danger can be to themselves. Lowering your head into the area where the defender is told to aim for is...dangerous. And sometimes they are the ones initiating the contact and launching.
2. along those lines, functionally eliminate the QB slide. They keep sliding at the last second. Defenders, coming in low (as instructed) keep hitting them. The QB in incented to slide at the last second to get extra yards and to get either a unnecessary roughness or targeting penalty. Flag a QB who slides last second for dangerous (to themselves) play. You want to slide (what is this, baseball?), do it early enough that there is no doubt if anyone hits you that they probably should be ejected.
I'm lost on what is targeting. This happens every bowl season in critical moments and yet the rules don't change. Yet again, we will get no explanation on any of these. What makes me so upset is the inconsistency of the call.
If you take everything I’ve accomplished in my life and condense it down to one day, it looks decent!
Last night's lesson will be forgotten eventually, but it is an important one. These are games played for enjoyment and as a distraction from real problems in life. Wins and losses shouldn't matter as much as they do. Last night makes me feel a bit embarrassed at being so down about Saturday night's result.
Well said. And when real life creeps into the forefront of our distractions on the biggest stage, it’s a very traumatic event for all involved. Reminds us we can’t hide from reality.
I’d love to eventually hear a true breakdown of what happened on the FG attempt. The snap seemed solid, the hold got down, the kick immediately sailed left and Ruggles immediately started consoling the holder who was slumped down on one knee. That tells me something may have gone wrong with the hold. Wondering if he put it down in the wrong spot which caused it to be shanked. If so, Ruggles is a class act for taking all the “blame” without saying anything.
At the end of the day, Ohio State was not supposed to win this game (if you asked anyone in the media and a good part of the fanbase, present company included) and they exceeded any expectations I had for them going into it. And it was a herculean effort considering how much OSU was playing without on that team. No one else in the FBS would have put up the effort Ohio State did against Georgia, and I am very proud of them for making this a respectable (albeit nearly winnable until the last second) game.
18-21 year olds (in Stetson Bennet's case, 25), playing a game, anything can happen. Ruggles had enormous pressure on him, and OSU didn't put him in the best spot they could to get to field position that would make for an easier kick. Maybe the hold was bad, etc, but this stuff happens. Atlanta being total douchebags about it punching down on a college kid was uncalled for, and I wish the worst for them in all future endeavors.
Prayers for Damar Hamlin. So bizarre for a 24 year old to have a cardiac arrest. Wonder what underlying health condition he had going on there. I still remember when Hank Gathers dropped dead on the basketball court due to a heart condition. Sad regardless and hoping the the absolute very best for Hamlin and his family, friends, players, and coaches.
CJ IS the best QB coming out next season, but I think he could benefit greatly with another season at OSU. It would ABSOLUTELY benefit OSU for obvious reasons. He's making millions now, why rush off to be drafted by some shitty NFL team to get sacked 10 times a game and lose 13 games like Justin Fields who is making SLIGHTLY more money in the pros than he would in college. CJ is a millionaire and a pro-athlete NOW. This isn't the pre-NIL days. Make the kid the offer (looking at you "the foundation") to say "hey, if we can get you $5-$10 million to return, will you do it?" Everyone has a number. OSU needs to make a good business decision and do what they can to RETAIN NFL talent. Forget getting the "blue chip" recruits, win the retention game of PROVEN talent. Make it HARD to leave OSU. Most NFL players don't make much money in reality. Fields is "only" making $4.7 million per season. SURELY we can beat that at OSU to have CJ back (and others).
As for the phantom "targeting" call, it's been ridiculous since the very inception and oddly seems to only affect the Buckeyes in big games. Stranger and stranger. Part of me wants to channel my Gen X "we used to play tackle football in the streets" mentality, but I know that was stupid. Having a son that plays football, I want him to play football that got rid of spearing and other stuff we did back in the day. That said, I think you can have the best of both worlds in that we can eliminate that spearing (a tackle like a ram hitting another ram with the top of the head for instance), AND we can protect "defenseless players." Blindside blocks, heck, even blindside sacks of the QB like the one on CJ when nobody picked up the block on the blitzing defender. It's fine to tackle/sack the QB, but you can't "blow him up" or whatever.
Bottom line for the hit on MHJ is that they immediately called the targeting call and it met all the requirements ON PAPER, and the "review" should have only been as to weather or not the eventual "Peach Bowl Defensive Player of the Game" was disqualified and ejected. NOT to overturn the damn call altogether. the fact that MHJ was determined to have a concussion and we lost him altogether demonstrates the stupidity of the "did he or didn't do x,y, or z." The rule FAILED to "punish" a player for hitting another player that resulted in the exact thing that they claim they're trying to prevent: CONCUSSIONS. Oh well.
Yes - the penalty in my opinion is too severe. Make it one quarter. BUT for gosh sake don't wave off the penalty call entirely when it's immediately flagged by a referee standing five feet away who has likely had extra training to determine it because the biggest hits occur in the back of the defense and that's EXACTLY where the back judge is positioned. So we either throw a guy out of the game and 1/2 of the next one, or we call nothing. That ridiculous dichotomy is why it's a badly designed rule. If the flag is there let's call it unnecessary roughness and then make a secondary determination on the targeting. It's why they have a trial to decide guilty or not guilty, then another hearing to decide the sentence. The flag means you are guilty. The sentencing hearing is the booth. But the sentencing hearing can't overturn the trial.
As long as we’re talking about fairness, i.e., consistency in calling targeting calls, can someone explain to me how Georgia got to play what not only amounted to a home game but on a field that it already played on twice this season, including its most recent game? I realize that once the CFP expand to 12 seeds 5-8 will play first round home games but we’re not there yet. In the current field of four system, giving the top-ranked team a distinct home field advantage like Georgia got seems unfair. It should’ve been played on a truly neutral field. Ohio State was already facing an uphill battle but putting that game in Arizona with a potentially less hostile crowd might’ve played a difference. What is home field advantage worth?
In general, I believe most bookmakers assign an average home edge of about 3.0 points in college football and 2.0 points in the NFL. In this study, I have found that the TRUE college football number is closer to 2.3 since 2019, with that number actually trending back up toward 2.5 this season.
I thought that as well. I understand the process behind warm site games or indoors, but I don't agree with it. Some of the NFLs best playoff games came in cold weather. This is different as the NFL uses home field advantage throughout the process, but the still point stands. CFP should be separated from the bowls and have numerous sites predetermined under the TBA (to be announced) banner until teams are announced by the selection committee. Let's get some cold weather games and not just Indy. The solution could also be to continue to incorporate the bowls, just announce the sites after the teams are released to protect neutrality.
College Football's postseason is one of the most screwed up things in sports, and I, for one am a long time fan that is glad that there is an attempt to fix it. While not perfect, the 12 team playoff will at least give teams 5-8 home field advantage in the first round which is something. It also diminishes the impact of a bad call in the regular season as one loss is not going to keep a team out. Now if we could go to the system like the NCAA basketball tournament and get one quarterfinal in each region....
As long as we’re talking about fairness, i.e., consistency in calling targeting calls, can someone explain to me how Georgia got to play what not only amounted to a home game but on a field that it already played on twice this season, including its most recent game?
Easy answers. Playoff game sites are picked in advance. The top seed is placed at the site closest to their school. Just so happens it was in Atlanta this year. That is the reward for being the top seed.
They won the SEC East. The SEC title game was played in Atlanta. It is what it is.
The Oregon game was scheduled in advance.
All 3 combined is what it is.
It just sucks that it's blatantly clear that MHJr was the difference in the outcome of the game, Georgia had absolutely no answer for him at all, and it's very likely he was going to set some records.
The Excellence of Execution, the Best there is, the Best there was, the Best there ever will be!
The fact that there are still so many controversial targeting/not targeting calls shows that the whole point of the targeting rule in the first place has been a failure. This was supposed to reduce the frequency of these types of hits by adding harsher consequences for them but obviously its not working. Calling targeting in a single instance doesn't take back the hit a player just received to the head but it is supposed to be a deterrent to prevent others from happening in the future. If you can get away with borderline hits to the head though why would you stop doing it? None of the targeting non calls from this weekend will discourage anyone from taking shots at the head.
The fact that there are still so many controversial targeting/not targeting calls shows that the whole point of the targeting rule in the first place has been a failure.
I'm not going to defend the past or current targeting rules, but questions like this can really only be answered with statistics. Are we seeing a lower rate of head / neck injuries over the last few years or not?
Again, that isn't a defense of the rule as written. I think we could definitely see more improvement in head injury reduction with better rules. I also think we could have them more clearly defined and implemented. But all that said, have the flawed rules we have had worked to reduce head injuries? The study below would indicate that they have. One study doesn't prove something, but it certainly is the right way to think about the safety effectiveness of the effort.
Atlanta Falcons are trash for that crap message. Let's dump on a young kicker under severe pressure who already feels horrible. The owner should fire the guy who put that out.
Player safety should be number 1, especially with what happened last night. My thoughts are if targeting is even questionable, call it, including on OSU. All 3 of the shown examples could have been avoided by the defender and the tackle still made. It will force coaches/players to continue to learn and evaluate tackling methods.
I can’t tell you what Targeting is…but I know it when I see it. That was Targeting. Can’t lead with the shoulder either an hit the head neck area. After all the weak blind side blocks that were called this weekend for player safety and this is ok on a totally defenseless player. He came in high. Or just scrap it all together and let’s light every one up!
Here's the real problem, in each of the 3 overturned targeting calls it can only happen IF the evidence is definitive, and in all 3 instances it wasn't. All 3 should've been 'stands as called.' The fact that the decisions all said, nope, that's definitively NOT targeting shows the system is corrupt imo.
Re: targeting. We don't overturn roughing the passer penalties. It's called and you move on. I think the penalty for targeting is so severe that it works against calling it properly. The thought process in the faceless replay booth is "do we think we should throw that guy out of the game and perhaps half of the next one." There is a protocol in soccer for red card and hockey for game misconduct. Let's make targeting a one quarter penalty, and yes one quarter of the next game if it occurs in the fourth quarter so that we avoid a cheap frustration penalty late in a game. But if the referee standing five feet away called unnecessary roughness, we need to let that call stand and then decide on targeting. But to just ignore the flag because we don't want to eject a player makes a mockery of it.
Plus, I don't think a coach is going to say " hey, it will only cost us one quarter, go ahead and hit Jimmy in the head because he's killing us out there." We all have seen how one targeting call or non-targeting call can flip a game. No coach is going to advocate for that because the penalty is reduced. Remember how face masking used to be five yards for your hand accidentally hit the guy in the facemask versus fifteen yards for you tried to decapitate the guy and twist his neck apart. We have made the penalty so severe for targeting that due to the law of unintended consequences you can now smash a guy in the head, and you don't even get 15 yards.
The penalty in my opinion is too severe. Make it one quarter. BUT for gosh sake don't wave off the penalty call entirely when it's immediately flagged by a referee standing five feet away who has likely had extra training to determine it because the biggest hits occur in the back of the defense and that's EXACTLY where the back judge is positioned. So we either throw a guy out of the game and 1/2 of the next one, or we call nothing. That ridiculous dichotomy is why it's a badly designed rule. If the flag is thrown let's call it unnecessary roughness and then make a secondary determination on the targeting. It's why they have a trial to decide guilty or not guilty, then another hearing to decide the sentence. The flag means you are guilty. The sentencing hearing is the booth. But the sentencing hearing can't overturn the trial.
IMO each of the given cases were 'textbook' examples of targeting!
If the NCAA or any other college football governing body is sincere about protecting these kids, these types of hits need to be penalized in order to reduce them. Disgusting really that protecting players has seemingly devolved to lip service.
EDIT: to add shoutout to Cotie, keep up the great play, girl!
The trend is now officials are unmitigated assholes who take the cash to impact the games. Remember when we used to think OSU is the cash cow so the system would want us in there? LOL- shame on us for believing it. A championship of OSU-TTUN would have ten times the amount of eyeballs watching instead of the shit game that’s going to take place. Even OSU- TCU would be bigger than UGA-TCU. They truly have given up on boosting individual teams. To the WWL, any hillbilly school will do. ESECPN already has their money. Watch don’t watch. It doesn’t matter to them. Good. In that case I won’t watch lol. They made the decision for me
When telling the truth becomes a revolutionary concept, it’s wise to join the revolution
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I honestly think that of the three the hit on MHJ might have been the most overturnable(?) but it should probably have still been targeting. The other two seemed like no-doubters. The rule is trash because there is absolutely no consistency in its enforcement.
I'm sorry I see it the opposite. The hit on MHjr to me was just a hard hit (maybe defenseless?) The other 2.....were not crown of helmet but incidental contact. The head is the top of the body between the shoulders so it will be involved to some extent on most tackles. These players are moving sooo fast.
It was called with zero hesitation, immediately on the field as Targeting.
It seems like everytime there is a hard hit we look to see if there is a flag. I think they throw the flag knowing it can be reversed but ( I could be wrong) they really can't look at it afterwards and call a penalty down from the booth.
Everyone will see those plays differently and this is just how I see them.
LOL. Onfield officials are NOT instructed to throw flags for "potential" rule infractions.
Actually, they do throw flags on reviewable plays if it's close, better to make the call and have it reviewed to get it right than to miss is altogether....many respectable announcers have said the same thing.
"I don't want to be around average, why be around average!" -UFM
They are with targeting.
This literally happens all the time. In fact I believe the play in the TCU/TTUN game was initiated by the booth and not called on the field at all.
You're too stupid to have a good time. -Dalton
In 2019, Shaun Wade was not flagged for targeting. That call was totally initiated from the replay booth. I have also seen others similar to that in college football. The Georgia defender left his feet (launched) into Harrison. If that isn’t targeting…just take targeting out of the rule book.
The rule should be simplified to throw out those who were obviously head hunting. Wade wasn't head hunting. He is 6'1" and Lawrence is 6'6". Lawrence lowered his head into Wade.
“Head hunting” isn’t part of the rule. Leading with the crown of the head is and that is what Wade did. Lawrence lowering his head does not take out targeting. Just look at the targeting call on Fields.
I know its not part of the rule as it is now. That's why I said the rule should be simplified to head hunting means you're thrown out, incidental contact means you stay in the game and maybe get unnecessary roughness. Or to put it another way, you hit like Tatum and Lott did back in the day you get thrown out (sad to say but need to protect the health of players to prevent CTE).
What is the definition of head hunting? Isn’t it called targeting today? Lead with the crown of the helmet?
If we would’ve blasted Bowers, it would’ve been clear targeting. It just means more.
Not only did he launch, AZ, but Harrison was defenseless. I mean, what the actual fuck are we doing here??
Guy suffers a concussion. Not targeting. USC-Tulane both guys get injured. Not targeting. Some random ass tackle in a game from Week 3 where all players involved pop up like nothing happened. Nope! You're outta here because that was a dangerous hit! What's the point of the rule if the fucking players aren't even being protected???
Every living OSU fan has a winning record against TTUN.
“I could be wrong.” I say that right before I decide not to press the red “SAVE” button below my draft comment.
Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, O HI O.
They called "targeting." The hit met all the requirements of "targeting" which dozens of posters have posted the rule that includes "launching" etc. THE REVIEW should have been to decide whether or not to EJECT the defensive player out of the game or not, NOT to overturn the call altogether. MHJ was absolutely "defenseless" and CLEARLY took a hit that concussed him as we lost him from the game. Bottom line is just that. They're trying to protect the players, and they did not. We lost the best player in the country for the rest of the game.
Round on the ends and "HI" in the middle. O-HI-O.
I am pretty sure they can call targeting from the booth even if not called on the field. Isn’t that what happened with Shaun Wade?
B Buehler
The indicator was the helmet and head snapping back the ref saw it and threw the flag without hesitation..then look up defensless...he was by definition...finally, leading with arm, shoulder, or head as per the rule when the player is defensless...i.e. in this case a receiver concentrating on a ball in mid air...clearly targeting. Bullshit call, bullshit award of defensive mvp...did I mention he launched as well and never tracked the ball just aimed for MHJ....bush league. Fix it by pulling the DQ part until second infraction...this should have been 15 and an automatic 1st down period. Ultimately football is a violent game but this hit is why the rule exists period.
Bbc11
And? The whole design is to throw the flag and review. It is understood by everyone it is very difficult to call live. Like, do you ever have a point?
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
Not for idiots like you who are pointless...I'll get crayons next time for the mentally challenged.
Bbc11
Beep Beep— don’t know if we are watching the same video clips…
This angle clearly shows helmet to helmet. Targeting 100%.
https://twitter.com/kcolbnek/status/1609418227070779394?s=46&t=skU_HMbjh...
Pretty fuking obvious to me the replay official threw the game. Even with all that, if we could've gotten 10-15 more yards, the Buckeyes would be preparing for the national championship. I don't believe the best team won and you'll never convince me otherwise.
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
I think all 3 were disputable in one way or another. Could go either way. However, I have ZERO doubt that in any of those situations if it was a buckeye defender, all 3 would be called and confirmed as targeting.
Sure seems that way doesn't it.
If none of those 3 were targeting then neither was Shaun Wade vs. Clemson.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Or Denzel Burke
excuses are the nails that build the house of failure.
Or against Jack Sawyer in the 2nd quarter of the Rose Bowl last year.
I think the third hit is the most overturnable. The other angle showed facemask to facemask contact on player who was running. This seems on the no call side of what I explicate on the TTUN hit. Penalty maybe but not ejection and suspension though.
TTUN hit was also a runner. May technically have been targeting but it was one of those that calling always seems against "The Spirit" of the rule. This one is in the middle of the gray area for me. Defender was trying to get low though he did not have his head up. Usually I see that called targeting though presumably so the defender gets his head up for his protection. I'm fine either way on that one lean to probably should have called. Penalty but the guy doesn't get ejected and suspended?
MHJ hit was pure head hunting. Might not have technically been hit to the head or neck but that is pure intent to fuck him up. MHJ is defenseless and the dude led with the helmet no matter where it lands and made no play on the ball or trying to get his hands through to break up the pass. Pure intent to harm. Exactly what "The Spirit" of the rule is meant to stop. Should not have been overturned and should have been one of the quickest call confirmations ever. Ejected and suspended.
But that's how I see it and that and an empty sack is worth the sack.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
The hit on the UM player is an interesting conundrum for me. That hit is a penalty because of the danger to the tackler. I find it hard to accept a penalty (15 yards)to the opposing team because you endangered yourself. I can see removal from the game (perhaps) but why should the other team get yardage because of it since there is no harm or disadvantage to them.
If you are trying to make things safer there needs to be "punishment" when a player acts unsafely. Yards awarded to the opposing team is the punishment for infractions in football. You want to eject the guy for that one with no penalty yards?
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
Everyone’s missing the fine print of these rules. ‘If OSU is getting out of reach, the call will be made to stop that.’ In 2019 and this weekend we saw the rule play out exceptionally well. End of debate!
I heard an official during one of the games specifically say that the NCAA this year has told all officials that targeting calls need to have the very top of the helmet hit the helmet of an opposing player. Hell, I thought the idea was to prevent head injuries, period.
First and goal at the five and Arch is getting the ball.
Everyone gets hung up on the helmet to helmet. Thanks to a timely post by TCM earlier this week, we know the rule specifically includes use of the shoulder, arm and hand to attack the head of the opposing player.
MHJ was hit with the shoulder directly into the helmet. Definite targeting by their own damn rules. At the very least, should have been a 15 yarder for unnecessary roughness or personal foul or something. Either way, we get the ball inside the 3 yard line, a new set of downs and very likely another TD, which seals the game. Even if it ends in a field goal, we burn more clock and they don't have time to score 2 TDs. It literally changed the outcome of the game. (As did several other plays). Once again, we got screwed by poor replay officiating.
"FireKevinWarren"
This is a problem on multiple levels.
Of course, most fans are clueless - no surprise there since NFL and college rules differ and most know what they know from TV and chatting with friends.. This is a solid summary: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/01/college-football-targeting-ejection-rul... If you really want the details beyond this, read the rulebook and look at note 1 and note 2 at the end for the exact criteria, but this summarizes it pretty well. It will help so you're not the next guy saying "it's not targeting because he didn't lead with his helmet" or "it's not targeting because it wasn't helmet to helmet". As you can see it's much more than that.
The bigger issue is that the referees, as sadly all Ohio State fans know. Replay officials seem to interject their opinions instead of simply applying the criteria listed in the article above. The bias of college officials comes through on this call more than any other reviewable call by a wide margin. For that reason in the playoff there's no way that officials from the conferences represented in the other playoff game should be handling replay. Case in9 point 2019, SEC officials obviously did OSU no favors (Targeting & Scoop and Score plays) setting up what most would see as the weaker opponent for LSU in the final . Not just Scarlet colored glasses: 2022 Michigan got the same treatment from the SEC booth (Targeting & Over turned TD) setting up TCU for Georgia. The NCAA needs to do better on who they select. It will admittedly be harder with 12 teams in the playoff but some conflicts of interest are just obvious.
Always debate over the refs calls. They called it, they didn’t call it. We examine the players and coaches and talk about execution. Well if the refs don’t execute, that has repercussions too. Bowers OB and the no-call on MHJ…huge ramifications.
I’m sorry, I can’t hear hippies. - Ron Swanson
Does anybody believe that the hit on MH wouldn’t have been called if it was a Georgia player hit by a Buckeye player? I don’t recall a targeting call on an Ohio State player EVER being overturned after a review. Maybe I missed it?
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
Never forget that B1G refs love to poop on Ohio State.
This year, can’t recall a Buckeye DB being in position to have the opportunity to target a receiver. They’re always chasing from behind! Easy down voters, I’m kidding. But I’ve said for a long time, if football was serious about eliminating the big hits, they’d eliminate zone coverage. You can’t target when your playing man.
I vaguely recall one targeting call against a Buckeye opponent in the past four or five seasons. Game was more or less out of hand in favor of the Buckeyes and there was pretty much no doubt about the call. I seem to think it was similar hit to the TTUN hit shown in the Skully on Fields or Haskins (I don't think it was all the way back to JT) and he was giving himself up though not being brought down by anyone. A Minnesota game not the snowy dilly bar huge run for JT one? I can't let go of "maroon uniform" but I do not have perfect recall. I do not recall any questionable or on the line calls with hits on Buckeyes going the Buckeye way.
Vague recollections also of one or two either way calls going for the Buckeyes though none of those in big games.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
If I remember correctly, I believe the back-breaking hit on Fields in the rematch against Clemson resulted in a disqualification.
That is not the one I was thinking of but clearly one that went in our favor. I would also consider that one "indisputable" so I don't think they could "get away" with not calling that one.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
Really dude??? All crews cheat against us? Come on. Seriously
Right -- refs can swing a game between two competitive teams with a handful of calls (or less). In this case (and as was the case against Clemson), a single official has unilateral authority to change what already happened on the field. Think it's important to recognize just how dangerous that is in a sport so rife with passion, bias, regional loyalties stretching back to the Confederacy, blatant conflicts of interest, etc.
But yeah, in this situation, even assuming the review official believed the call on the field was legitimately wrong -- which he must've had some NASA-funded camera that only he could see to determine no contact with the head/neck -- think he also had to essentially ignore the standard of review -- i.e., the applicable rule for a video review. So any way you cut it, IMO, it was the wrong decision by the official.
And the refs are untouchable. That’s the biggest problem going. Someone is gonna dox these assholes at some point.
When telling the truth becomes a revolutionary concept, it’s wise to join the revolution
How else would you suggest it be done?
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
Have the replay booth official explain his reasoning. Let both head coaches be offered the chance to rebut if they want to. The replay booth official should not be allowed to act as some all knowing judge that can't be questioned.
So you keep going back and forth with coaches challenging the call? That would take 20 minutes. No thank you! 3:45 games are already waaaaaaaaaaaay too long. At some point SOMEONE has to make a decision- good or bad.
Exactly. That is absurd. This isn't a courtroom proceeding.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
I'd fundamentally change a lot of things that are somewhat relevant to this issue. Eliminate arbitrary "rankings" in favor of something more similar to the NFL -- thus lessening a lot of the bias we get regarding conference/region/etc.
Increase transparency of the review process -- don't put it in one guy's hands who doesn't have to provide any explanation whatsoever. Make it be consensus of 3 people or something similar. Require a brief explanation for any conclusion based on review.
Also, it's 2023. Football's lack of cameras with appropriate angles to make these calls clear-cut is absolutely inexcusable -- and, TBH, seems intentional to keep the power to call whatever they want.
Alternatively, just get rid of replay altogether. I don't think it's made getting the big calls right any more likely. And, TBH, think it's decreased the overall quality of officiating.
All of that said, I don't have the money, wisdom, or behemoth apparatus of the NCAA, CFB, etc. So one would think one or all of those organizations could devote some resources to fixing these issues. But they don't.
Targeting has been called inconsistently... either make the call or don't..even after reviews..
Video review of targeting calls needs transparency,the replay official should be scrutinized over questionable judgement.
After the incident last night (I know not the same) hopefully player safety will be brought to the forefront even more.
Pray for Damar Hamlin,his family and the Bills and Bengals.
Seo
I believe if they really, really cared about player safety, a review board should look at every targeting call on a weekly basis, especially calls that are reversed. IMO, if the reviewing officials overturn a call incorrectly, they should be punished in some form or fashion. This is serious stuff.
I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. I'm trying to win football games-- Woody Hayes
I can see both value and negativity with a board review. I don’t think officials on the field should worry about making, or not making, a call because days later a board, that has the benefit of watching the play countless times in slow motion without the in game pressure, is going to say how they endangered a player’s life. The replay booth is a different story, the booth doesn’t have the same conditions as the guys on the field. I think a board would add value, especially overturning a call on the field. Even if it was in favor of the player injured.
Shatinkycat1
I've said for quite a while now that booth calls should go to a centralized staff in a control room somewhere. They have the technology to do it and it would at least be more consistent.
The replay does go to a centralized staff in a control room. For example, the Shaun Wade call was made from the SEC crew in Birmingham, Alabama. I would think that the call on Saturday was made from the league office of the Pac12 in San Francisco. Each league has a centrally located crew that has the power to overturn calls on the field and the replay crew is from the same conference as the officiating crew.
Excellent point about transparency. We should see the exact clips that the official is viewing and they should be miked up for the audience. We know they have a mike because it’s used every call, so turn it on during the most controversial reviews.
Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, O HI O.
Scrutinized by who? They already are here and now.
The calls are transparent. They make the call and move on - like it or not.
Like someone else said, striking a defenseless player in Marvin’s case probably was a better fit. Oh well, it is what it is.
Still pissed off with the officiating in the Peach Bowl which cost us the game, IMO, but damn proud of the way CJ and the healthy Buckeyes played. Georgia had every built-in advantage. My heart is broken, but imagine how the players must feel after all the hard work they put in.
I watched the Rose Bowl yesterday and as it turned into a rout, left it on but became disinterested and started working on my 500 piece puzzle. I wasn’t paying much attention as the Bills/Bengals game came on, next. Until that player went down. It was just shocking to see him fall to the ground like that and CPR being administered. It definitely puts things in perspective. Prayers to Damar Hamlin for a full recovery.
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
"I watched the Rose Bowl yesterday and as it turned into a rout, left it on but became disinterested and started working on my 500 piece puzzle."
Too bad as you missed a Tulane comeback for the win 46-45.........must have been a nice puzzle........hahaahahaha
Saban on a cart eating cold pizza
actually, that was the Cotton Bowl, not the Rose Bowl...but speaking of the Rose Bowl...
Faster, tougher, and more violent...
I will never understand the concept of drinking straight carbonated water, with or without alcohol. When I get that at McDonald's, it means the machine was broken.
Also surprised they allow Google Pay in California, I thought Apple owned the state.
Your signature will be publicly displayed at the end of your comments.
Hey moron. It was the fuking Rose Bowl. The Bengals/Bills game followed the fuking Rose Bowl on ESPN. Piss off.
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two.
Seems the dumbasses just keep coming out of the woodwork. However, I forgot you don't ever make mistakes and walk on water. So, I'll say to you in retort........FO.........hahahaha
Saban on a cart eating cold pizza
MGO Blog called. They wanna know if you would be interested in signing up for an an account over there.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
Officials didn’t give up 41 points. Officials didn’t give up a 76 yard TD. Officials didn’t miss a game winning FG. Officials didn’t get outscored 18-3 in the 4th. That’s just sour grapes.
I'm pretty proud of our Buckeyes effort against big, bad unbeatable Georgia. After the michigan debacle, they regrouped and beat the odds and almost beat the number 1 team. Injuries and bad calls are part of the game so I won't go there. In spite of the odds and difficulties, they almost stole it. Yes, the defense needs work but we can compete with the SEC's best.
Noah Ruggles has nothing to be ashamed of in that game. CJ Stroud was amazing.
I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. I'm trying to win football games-- Woody Hayes
Right on for Ruggles. Kid’s made plenty of big kicks in his time. Definitely can’t be put on his shoulders.
I’m sorry, I can’t hear hippies. - Ron Swanson
The biggest issue is that these calls by the referees decide who wins and loses games. You can argue the fact that you shouldn't complain about calls or no calls all you want. Rules applied to the sport should be rules abided by in every game all the time. Not when someone decides to refuse to do it. I am really getting jaded watching it happen and I cannot imagine how the players feel.
Indeed. It’s too arbitrary and puts too much game-deciding control in the subjective judgement of officials.
Judgement calls are always going to have some inconsistency, unfortunately. Been that way with PI calls forever. Me and the hard core OSU fans thought it was targeting live. Watched it a few more times, decided it wasn’t. I don’t think some on here are capable of this level of objectivity.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
My biggest issue is they immediately called it targeting. There is nothing at that point but to confirm or deny that was the penalty. If they would have called unnecessary roughness then said it was being reviewed for targeting, they could have kept the penalty and let the player stay in the game.
Correct. But surely you have seen targeting calls over turned no? This is what I think often happens. You see a vicious hit live, but It happens so quick, so you throw the flag to determine if it was targeting. I don't think this is like other calls where there is a presumption that the call on the field stands. And that is a good thing, because you don't what players ejected if it doesn't meet the criteria, but you just couldn't tell live because of game speed. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it looked to me like he neither led with the crown or made forcible contact to the head or the neck area. I do think he was a defenseless receiver, but that obviously alone isn't enough, otherwise you would never be able to hit a receiver at the moment he was trying to make a catch and he had to extend and couldn't protect himself. I think the head injury was caused by going to the ground. If others see it differently, that's fine, just trying to be honest, did't think it was targeting.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
Just saying if they call personal foul for defenseless player (which I believe he was) and then check for targeting, you can still keep the personal foul penalty and not eject the player. Yes, I have seen these calls get overturned but also seen calls that didn't look like targeting get called from the booth after the fact. My thought is if you called it targeting, there is only 2 options. Targeting and ejection or no penalty at all. If you call personal foul and look for targeting, there are 3 options. Personal foul stands and the 2 options for targeting are decided.
That is not correct. The flag was thrown for targeting. Defenseless player isn't a foul, it is a component of targeting, and alone, is not targeting. If a player is defenseless, you still have to have contact deemed inappropriate (use of crown of helmet, launching, contact with head or neck). None of those 3 were present, so flag was picked up. You used to be correct, the flag used to stand even if the targeting was removed (thus no ejection). My understanding is they changed that, which is why the flag was picked up.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
It’s a 60 minute game. Great teams overcome adversity. Even though we didn’t win, we overcame adversity. Whoever makes the great plays in great moments wins. It’s simple.
If they steal what you gain, they ABSOLUTELY change results.
Yeah yeah yeah. Damn cheating refs. Cost us every bowl loss in the last 35 years
huh? I thought you guys won the Rose Bowl yesterday?
Faster, tougher, and more violent...
Ha ha ha good one Vball.1000 up votes.
Seo
No. Only two of them.
All we’ve learned from these targeting calls is they don’t care about player safety. Every single replay ref for these three calls should be fired. Every single one is inexcusable.
Overturning these does make it look like the rules are all about "optics" as long as it doesn't go against Vegas or E$ECPN's interests or the narrative or whatever you want to call "not cheating/rigged you paranoid crybaby who blames officials for your loss but if it is cheating/rigged this is what it looks like because you're only paranoid if they're not out to get you and you can't prove they're out to get you."
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
I could dance like that..... about 40 years ago. LOL
I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. I'm trying to win football games-- Woody Hayes
Replay booth is unnecessary. All replays are viewed by the ref on the field too at the same time…why? Leave it up to the official who called it and the head of the crew on the field. I hate that some dude in Pittsburgh made this game changing decision.
The onfield officials seem to have excellent position, how do we know the camera angels are better and not worse?
I thought w targeting replay was supposed to find the plays onfields officials missed.
You thought wrong.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
You thought wrong. They are to reverse or confirm potential wrong calls, not missed calls.
Im I’m NJ and people curse when they hear the name Arthur Blank, an RU grad who never gave a cent to his alma matter. That’s his legacy and his franchise is trash.
So F@&$k him and the irrelevant Falcons!
Why is he obligated to give to Rutgers? Maybe there is bad blood.
Of course you wouldnt get it.
B1G Freshman of the Week four weeks in a row: The amazing, Cotie McMahon…LadyBucks are deep!
TBDSNITL: The best damn screen name in the land!
Going semi-conspiracy theorist here… they want targeting to be as vague as possible so the refs have as much control on the outcome of the game as possible. It’s the only way I can think that makes sense why these calls are all so differently enforced.
Imagine a team eliminated from the playoffs taking shots at a team playing in the playoffs over a kick that was 30 yards longer.
I hope Atlanta loses every FG-decided game from now until the end of time. Classless clowns.
Prays for Damar Hamlin.
Never tell me the odds!
Thanks, "Big Play" Knowles. Thanks for nothing.
OH-IO Goodbye Columbus.
Targeting penalty is a good idea completely messed up in reality and has been from the beginning, Both semis had what most fans would consider obvious calls overturned.
As far as the Falcons tweet, unfortunately social media rewards hot takes so we get idiots who take things too far. I'm sure whoever posted that thought they were being cute.
JWilly3
Can one receive a confusion without being hit in the head or the head hitting the turf?
Try not to suck
People are confused all the time.
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Now that’s funny!
Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, O HI O.
If a rule or law is written subjectively it is so they can selectively enforce it. Quit beating around the bush.
#walkaway
They need to do away with the rule as it stands. Flag it for unnecessary roughness and move on. After a certain number (2 or 3?) in a season, that player is subject to a review by whatever governing body wants to review it, and can be suspended. Each hit would also be individually reviewed, and hits that are flagrant could warrant a suspension in itself.
You're too stupid to have a good time. -Dalton
Remember when Bosa was tossed for what amounts to a small bump compared to these blows?
I think Gee Scott hit the Michigan player harder than Nick Bosa hit that Iowa QB.
Another problem with MHJr hit was the unfortunate commentary by that piece of shit Fowler. Marvin is literally knocked out on the field when Fowler opines “that’s not targeting.”
Time and change will surely show how firm thy friendship, O HI O.
Fowler is a total ass. I muted the game for minutes at a time to give myself a break from him. He was at his worst on Saturday and that’s saying a lot. Seemed subdued and pretty uninterested calling the Rose Bowl though.
He’s no less obnoxious than Herbstreit.
That Falcons tweet is messed up. Fuck them and that entire organization. Ruggles should’ve tweeted at them “28-3”.
Haven't paid attention to the Falcons since the Glanville days and obviously there's no reason to start now. 6-10 flex, well done losers. Smh
Maybe a boycott of Home Depot by the entire OSU nation would make Arthur Blank think about what his social media department does.
I think they changed the crown of the helmet definition to be only the very top of the helmet used to impact the other players head or neck area. But I think defenseless player rules are still in effect and I think MH jr was defenseless. He was trying to catch a ball and that’s defenseless by definition. So a shoulder to the head or neck area of a defenseless player is targeting.
……a LAUNCHED shoulder……..
My question is why does the booth have the final say? Perhaps a change could be that the onfield ref works with "the booth" to review and perhaps change the call, with further video evidence from other angles. But the final call remains on the field. That would restore accountability to the process and eliminate the shadowy dude in Tuscaloosa making the game changing call.
Stroud played a very good game and I will say throws as pretty a pass as I have seen but you don’t get included on the list of best QBs ever at OSU when you went 0-2 against TTUN and added zero hard ware to the trophy case. Nobody is going to remember Stroud for accomplishments at OSU because there weren’t any.
I think CJ Stroud earned great affection and respect for his valiant effort against Georgia. From this, he can build a wonderful future and cultivate his Buckeye legacy. CJ Stroud was a great Buckeye and I am glad he played for our team.
Hold your head high, CJ. You're a Buckeye, forever! That's one of the best ways to be, in life.
Go Bucks!
TBDSNITL: The best damn screen name in the land!
So you ARE capable of saying good things about the team? Good job but I’m shocked
TBDSNITL: The best damn screen name in the land!
Steel City,
i don’t know why you were downvotes but you’re spot on. You hear former players always discuss how many championships/ gold pants they won. CJ has none!
How many you sportin?
None! I’m not being viewed as an all time great.
And there's a GOOD reason for that. Luckily CJ Stroud IS.
Princess Buckeye
They are all sheep incapable of accepting reality.
Prayers go out to Hamlin and his family. Hoping for a recovery. I was watching to see Burrow pull out a victory for the Bengals and ended the night just be thankful. Everything seems so small today. These guys go out weekly and put their lives, health on the line for a pay check and our entertainment. Puts things back into perspective.
CBus love
Fuck the falcons forever. Go Blow another 25 point lead you fucks.
Exactly. I have ZERO LOVE for those overglorified yardbirds!!!!
CJ was an absolute beast...you can't give up 18 points in the 4th quarter, especially after playing so well in the 3rd--so this is on the defense (ie Knowles)...this loss isn't on Ruggles...and I'm thrilled Coach Day is giving up his play calling duties to focus more on the complete package (ie again, the defense).
Faster, tougher, and more violent...
I will never understand seeing what I witnessed in live action and then several times how the booth overturned that call. The officials immediately threw the flag, looked like the head/shoulder area, the guys own teammates were telling him that he shouldn’t have done that, and MHJ is out on the ground.
Also, the significant impacts it had on the game. A first and goal negated and MHJ medically benched gave Georgia the life it needed on defense.
Shatinkycat1
I will never understand seeing what I witnessed in live action and then several times how the booth overturned that call. The officials immediately threw the flag, looked like the head/shoulder area, the guys own teammates were telling him that he shouldn’t have done that, and MHJ is out on the ground.
Also, the significant impacts it had on the game. A first and goal negated and MHJ medically benched gave Georgia the life it needed on defense.
Shatinkycat1
I'm going to give one more compliment to CJ STROUD:
From your most vocal critic, CJ. I am still awestruck by your performance.
Moving forward? And with extreme prejudice? THE SECONDARY IS GOING TO HAVE TO STEP IT'S GAME UP. AND KNOWLES WILL NEED TO EARN HIS KEEP. Had this team had ALL NINE UNITS STRONG? We'd be making plans to head to LA's "Inland Empire".
I trust that HC Day will be evaluating this very carefully, starting yesterday,
Also lost the TEs.
If they really cared about player safety they'd do two things they don't seem interested in:
1. Occasionally throw a flag for targeting / dangerous play on the offensive player. That danger can be to themselves. Lowering your head into the area where the defender is told to aim for is...dangerous. And sometimes they are the ones initiating the contact and launching.
2. along those lines, functionally eliminate the QB slide. They keep sliding at the last second. Defenders, coming in low (as instructed) keep hitting them. The QB in incented to slide at the last second to get extra yards and to get either a unnecessary roughness or targeting penalty. Flag a QB who slides last second for dangerous (to themselves) play. You want to slide (what is this, baseball?), do it early enough that there is no doubt if anyone hits you that they probably should be ejected.
Better yet get ride of the rule all together. If the QB runs he is a running back. This is the problem with football today. It is not football.
That's right, that's right, we bad
I'm lost on what is targeting. This happens every bowl season in critical moments and yet the rules don't change. Yet again, we will get no explanation on any of these. What makes me so upset is the inconsistency of the call.
If you take everything I’ve accomplished in my life and condense it down to one day, it looks decent!
Last night's lesson will be forgotten eventually, but it is an important one. These are games played for enjoyment and as a distraction from real problems in life. Wins and losses shouldn't matter as much as they do. Last night makes me feel a bit embarrassed at being so down about Saturday night's result.
Well said. And when real life creeps into the forefront of our distractions on the biggest stage, it’s a very traumatic event for all involved. Reminds us we can’t hide from reality.
I’d love to eventually hear a true breakdown of what happened on the FG attempt. The snap seemed solid, the hold got down, the kick immediately sailed left and Ruggles immediately started consoling the holder who was slumped down on one knee. That tells me something may have gone wrong with the hold. Wondering if he put it down in the wrong spot which caused it to be shanked. If so, Ruggles is a class act for taking all the “blame” without saying anything.
At the end of the day, Ohio State was not supposed to win this game (if you asked anyone in the media and a good part of the fanbase, present company included) and they exceeded any expectations I had for them going into it. And it was a herculean effort considering how much OSU was playing without on that team. No one else in the FBS would have put up the effort Ohio State did against Georgia, and I am very proud of them for making this a respectable (albeit nearly winnable until the last second) game.
18-21 year olds (in Stetson Bennet's case, 25), playing a game, anything can happen. Ruggles had enormous pressure on him, and OSU didn't put him in the best spot they could to get to field position that would make for an easier kick. Maybe the hold was bad, etc, but this stuff happens. Atlanta being total douchebags about it punching down on a college kid was uncalled for, and I wish the worst for them in all future endeavors.
Prayers for Damar Hamlin. So bizarre for a 24 year old to have a cardiac arrest. Wonder what underlying health condition he had going on there. I still remember when Hank Gathers dropped dead on the basketball court due to a heart condition. Sad regardless and hoping the the absolute very best for Hamlin and his family, friends, players, and coaches.
CJ IS the best QB coming out next season, but I think he could benefit greatly with another season at OSU. It would ABSOLUTELY benefit OSU for obvious reasons. He's making millions now, why rush off to be drafted by some shitty NFL team to get sacked 10 times a game and lose 13 games like Justin Fields who is making SLIGHTLY more money in the pros than he would in college. CJ is a millionaire and a pro-athlete NOW. This isn't the pre-NIL days. Make the kid the offer (looking at you "the foundation") to say "hey, if we can get you $5-$10 million to return, will you do it?" Everyone has a number. OSU needs to make a good business decision and do what they can to RETAIN NFL talent. Forget getting the "blue chip" recruits, win the retention game of PROVEN talent. Make it HARD to leave OSU. Most NFL players don't make much money in reality. Fields is "only" making $4.7 million per season. SURELY we can beat that at OSU to have CJ back (and others).
As for the phantom "targeting" call, it's been ridiculous since the very inception and oddly seems to only affect the Buckeyes in big games. Stranger and stranger. Part of me wants to channel my Gen X "we used to play tackle football in the streets" mentality, but I know that was stupid. Having a son that plays football, I want him to play football that got rid of spearing and other stuff we did back in the day. That said, I think you can have the best of both worlds in that we can eliminate that spearing (a tackle like a ram hitting another ram with the top of the head for instance), AND we can protect "defenseless players." Blindside blocks, heck, even blindside sacks of the QB like the one on CJ when nobody picked up the block on the blitzing defender. It's fine to tackle/sack the QB, but you can't "blow him up" or whatever.
Bottom line for the hit on MHJ is that they immediately called the targeting call and it met all the requirements ON PAPER, and the "review" should have only been as to weather or not the eventual "Peach Bowl Defensive Player of the Game" was disqualified and ejected. NOT to overturn the damn call altogether. the fact that MHJ was determined to have a concussion and we lost him altogether demonstrates the stupidity of the "did he or didn't do x,y, or z." The rule FAILED to "punish" a player for hitting another player that resulted in the exact thing that they claim they're trying to prevent: CONCUSSIONS. Oh well.
Round on the ends and "HI" in the middle. O-HI-O.
Yes - the penalty in my opinion is too severe. Make it one quarter. BUT for gosh sake don't wave off the penalty call entirely when it's immediately flagged by a referee standing five feet away who has likely had extra training to determine it because the biggest hits occur in the back of the defense and that's EXACTLY where the back judge is positioned. So we either throw a guy out of the game and 1/2 of the next one, or we call nothing. That ridiculous dichotomy is why it's a badly designed rule. If the flag is there let's call it unnecessary roughness and then make a secondary determination on the targeting. It's why they have a trial to decide guilty or not guilty, then another hearing to decide the sentence. The flag means you are guilty. The sentencing hearing is the booth. But the sentencing hearing can't overturn the trial.
Michael
As long as we’re talking about fairness, i.e., consistency in calling targeting calls, can someone explain to me how Georgia got to play what not only amounted to a home game but on a field that it already played on twice this season, including its most recent game? I realize that once the CFP expand to 12 seeds 5-8 will play first round home games but we’re not there yet. In the current field of four system, giving the top-ranked team a distinct home field advantage like Georgia got seems unfair. It should’ve been played on a truly neutral field. Ohio State was already facing an uphill battle but putting that game in Arizona with a potentially less hostile crowd might’ve played a difference. What is home field advantage worth?
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
I thought that as well. I understand the process behind warm site games or indoors, but I don't agree with it. Some of the NFLs best playoff games came in cold weather. This is different as the NFL uses home field advantage throughout the process, but the still point stands. CFP should be separated from the bowls and have numerous sites predetermined under the TBA (to be announced) banner until teams are announced by the selection committee. Let's get some cold weather games and not just Indy. The solution could also be to continue to incorporate the bowls, just announce the sites after the teams are released to protect neutrality.
College Football's postseason is one of the most screwed up things in sports, and I, for one am a long time fan that is glad that there is an attempt to fix it. While not perfect, the 12 team playoff will at least give teams 5-8 home field advantage in the first round which is something. It also diminishes the impact of a bad call in the regular season as one loss is not going to keep a team out. Now if we could go to the system like the NCAA basketball tournament and get one quarterfinal in each region....
Easy answers. Playoff game sites are picked in advance. The top seed is placed at the site closest to their school. Just so happens it was in Atlanta this year. That is the reward for being the top seed.
They won the SEC East. The SEC title game was played in Atlanta. It is what it is.
The Oregon game was scheduled in advance.
All 3 combined is what it is.
It just sucks that it's blatantly clear that MHJr was the difference in the outcome of the game, Georgia had absolutely no answer for him at all, and it's very likely he was going to set some records.
The Excellence of Execution, the Best there is, the Best there was, the Best there ever will be!
The fact that there are still so many controversial targeting/not targeting calls shows that the whole point of the targeting rule in the first place has been a failure. This was supposed to reduce the frequency of these types of hits by adding harsher consequences for them but obviously its not working. Calling targeting in a single instance doesn't take back the hit a player just received to the head but it is supposed to be a deterrent to prevent others from happening in the future. If you can get away with borderline hits to the head though why would you stop doing it? None of the targeting non calls from this weekend will discourage anyone from taking shots at the head.
I'm not going to defend the past or current targeting rules, but questions like this can really only be answered with statistics. Are we seeing a lower rate of head / neck injuries over the last few years or not?
Again, that isn't a defense of the rule as written. I think we could definitely see more improvement in head injury reduction with better rules. I also think we could have them more clearly defined and implemented. But all that said, have the flawed rules we have had worked to reduce head injuries? The study below would indicate that they have. One study doesn't prove something, but it certainly is the right way to think about the safety effectiveness of the effort.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8521430/
Atlanta Falcons are trash for that crap message. Let's dump on a young kicker under severe pressure who already feels horrible. The owner should fire the guy who put that out.
Player safety should be number 1, especially with what happened last night. My thoughts are if targeting is even questionable, call it, including on OSU. All 3 of the shown examples could have been avoided by the defender and the tackle still made. It will force coaches/players to continue to learn and evaluate tackling methods.
Prayers for Hamlin.
It starts with the owner. Yes the falcons are trash.
That's right, that's right, we bad
this was immediately my first thought when I saw the medics doing CPR...hope this young man comes out of this strong and healthy
Faster, tougher, and more violent...
I can’t tell you what Targeting is…but I know it when I see it. That was Targeting. Can’t lead with the shoulder either an hit the head neck area. After all the weak blind side blocks that were called this weekend for player safety and this is ok on a totally defenseless player. He came in high. Or just scrap it all together and let’s light every one up!
Fixing the targeting rule is easy. Remove it.
That's right, that's right, we bad
Agreed. With no consistency in calling the foul, why not make it consistent by removing it entirely? It’s not being enforced anyway.
I've never said I 'hate' anyone because that would imply I had any emotion for them whatsoever.
Do any of YOUR kids play football?
Enforce the rule consistently, a helmet-to-helmet collision is potentially VERY dangerous.
The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win. -- Woody Hayes
The falcons still have a season going? LOL. What a sad pathetic existence. The Lions are better than them. Let that sink in.
When telling the truth becomes a revolutionary concept, it’s wise to join the revolution
Here's the real problem, in each of the 3 overturned targeting calls it can only happen IF the evidence is definitive, and in all 3 instances it wasn't. All 3 should've been 'stands as called.' The fact that the decisions all said, nope, that's definitively NOT targeting shows the system is corrupt imo.
sfgoods
Re: targeting. We don't overturn roughing the passer penalties. It's called and you move on. I think the penalty for targeting is so severe that it works against calling it properly. The thought process in the faceless replay booth is "do we think we should throw that guy out of the game and perhaps half of the next one." There is a protocol in soccer for red card and hockey for game misconduct. Let's make targeting a one quarter penalty, and yes one quarter of the next game if it occurs in the fourth quarter so that we avoid a cheap frustration penalty late in a game. But if the referee standing five feet away called unnecessary roughness, we need to let that call stand and then decide on targeting. But to just ignore the flag because we don't want to eject a player makes a mockery of it.
Plus, I don't think a coach is going to say " hey, it will only cost us one quarter, go ahead and hit Jimmy in the head because he's killing us out there." We all have seen how one targeting call or non-targeting call can flip a game. No coach is going to advocate for that because the penalty is reduced. Remember how face masking used to be five yards for your hand accidentally hit the guy in the facemask versus fifteen yards for you tried to decapitate the guy and twist his neck apart. We have made the penalty so severe for targeting that due to the law of unintended consequences you can now smash a guy in the head, and you don't even get 15 yards.
Michael
Second thoughts on targeting:
The penalty in my opinion is too severe. Make it one quarter. BUT for gosh sake don't wave off the penalty call entirely when it's immediately flagged by a referee standing five feet away who has likely had extra training to determine it because the biggest hits occur in the back of the defense and that's EXACTLY where the back judge is positioned. So we either throw a guy out of the game and 1/2 of the next one, or we call nothing. That ridiculous dichotomy is why it's a badly designed rule. If the flag is thrown let's call it unnecessary roughness and then make a secondary determination on the targeting. It's why they have a trial to decide guilty or not guilty, then another hearing to decide the sentence. The flag means you are guilty. The sentencing hearing is the booth. But the sentencing hearing can't overturn the trial.
Michael
Feel bad for Ruggles.. Kids gonna live with that kick the rest of his life.
Everyone does realize that the NCAA does not create or change the rules don’t you??
IMO each of the given cases were 'textbook' examples of targeting!
If the NCAA or any other college football governing body is sincere about protecting these kids, these types of hits need to be penalized in order to reduce them. Disgusting really that protecting players has seemingly devolved to lip service.
EDIT: to add shoutout to Cotie, keep up the great play, girl!
I'm just here trying to figure out what a "stoink" is ::Bosa shrug::
Every living OSU fan has a winning record against TTUN.
I came here to ask the same thing. What the heck is a stoink, Chase?
The trend is now officials are unmitigated assholes who take the cash to impact the games. Remember when we used to think OSU is the cash cow so the system would want us in there? LOL- shame on us for believing it. A championship of OSU-TTUN would have ten times the amount of eyeballs watching instead of the shit game that’s going to take place. Even OSU- TCU would be bigger than UGA-TCU. They truly have given up on boosting individual teams. To the WWL, any hillbilly school will do. ESECPN already has their money. Watch don’t watch. It doesn’t matter to them. Good. In that case I won’t watch lol. They made the decision for me
When telling the truth becomes a revolutionary concept, it’s wise to join the revolution