Targeting: the penalty that draws the ire of players, coaches, fans, and everyone in-between has been the center of controversy since its inception in 2008. It has left its fingerprints all over college football, and not for the better. The penalty for targeting is 15 yards, and the player who committed the foul is ejected. College Football Gametime discussed the penalty on Saturday morning.
The 2019 NCAA Rule Book laid out the Targeting penalty as when a player “takes aim at an opponent for the purposes of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or legal block or playing the ball.”
It was implemented as a measure to protect players and prevent forcible contact on defenseless players, but it has run amok. Ole Miss had four players ejected in their week one matchup with Louisville, USC had kicker Parker Lewis ejected on an opening kickoff after lowering his helmet on a tackle, and just last week Auburn had defensive back Zakoby McClain flagged for his hit on Parker Washington on the 1-yard line - and due to the timing of McClain’s penalty, he will also miss the first half of the Georgia State game this afternoon.
Those penalties illustrate the controversy that has emerged from this season alone. The rule has had a tremendous impact on the biggest stage of the sport already. In the 2020 National Championship Game, Clemson had star linebacker James Skalski ejected on a seemingly innocuous hit.
This play had an overly impactful effect on the game and the rule should have been amended or eliminated as soon as the final whistle sounded. Don’t believe me? Just google controversial targeting calls and click through the dozens of examples.
Chris Goforth highlighted the serious issue that goes beyond the letter of the law, “The problem with targeting, to me, is the way it’s officiated. This rule is wide open for interpretation and so there’s no consistency from crew to crew or game to game, even tackle to tackle sometimes... ”
College football has a targeting problem, and it needs to be addressed.
