Penn State football lost new player LB Abdul Carter in a targeting call that was on college football Twitter mid-season bemoaning the controversial rule.
The comeback of college football is great. We are blessed with brilliant rivalry, school pride, chaos and unpredictability.
Unfortunately, that also means the return of one of the sport’s most misleading rules: targeting throws.
Every year, teams across college football are cheated by the excessive appeal of the targeting rule, resulting in an automatic expulsion.
In their season opener against Purdue, Penn State were on the wrong end of their first terrible targeting call of the season.
Penn State midfielder Abd Carter sent off for targeting
Rookie Abed Carter was making his debut with the Nittany Lions when he walked past a loose ball on a foul. It wasn’t a late blow after the whistle. It was a football game with accidental head-on.
The rulers expelled him for it.
Twitter chased them and judged him.
Protecting players from head injuries is a noble goal. But getting players out for casual contact while playing the game in the most basic way is to take the football field steps too far. It doesn’t have to be this way.
There are a lot of ways to fix the base. Allow referees to award a penalty without sending off. Make the output process based on a clear intent. Or kick him out after two offences.
Anything would be better than the way the rule is currently applied.
Things didn’t go smoothly in Pennsylvania overall on Thursday night. They lagged at Purdue late in the second quarter by failing the opening half of their season.
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