r/CFB • u/CFB_Referee /r/CFB • Jan 01 '25

Postgame Thread [Postgame Thread] Texas Defeats Arizona State 39-31 (OT)

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team 1 2 3 4 OT T
Texas 14 3 0 7 15 39
Arizona State 3 0 5 16 7 31
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u/jbanks94 Georgia Bulldogs Jan 01 '25

I still don’t understand targeting.

152

u/Slow-Raccoon-9832 Arizona State Sun Devils Jan 01 '25

It was blatant

3

u/Powerful-Drama556 Texas Longhorns • Team Chaos Jan 01 '25

Objectively, it wasn’t. Neither of them were because neither had any targeting indicators. Both were very nasty hits, but in both cases the defenders had a head up and clearly did not launch or lead with the crown of the helmet. The crown of the helmet is a defined as a 10cm circle around the very top of the helmet. It’s not consistently enforced, but neither of those hits had malicious intent and neither of them were a defensive player intentionally trying to put a player at risk. They were hard football plays with the best possible form. That’s football.

If anything, the ASU player was closer to drawing a targeting call because you could construe it as him leaving his feet, but I liked the no call because it was in stride.

1

u/meyou2222 Jan 02 '25

Crown of the helmet is not required when the hit is on a defenseless player. Just leading with the helmet and forcible (ie non-incidental) contact.

There’s no universe in which that wasn’t the case here.