The rules of football have drastically changed to protect players, and rightfully so. While some calls may be considered egregious, the missed targeting penalty for Arizona State graduate student wide receiver Melquan Stovall late in the fourth quarter of the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl was one of the biggest misses you’ll ever see.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With 1:08 left to play, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt found Stovall for a 10-yard gain. Leavitt was met by junior defensive back Michael Taffe, who clearly made helmet-to-helmet contact; however, the officials didn’t see it that way, forcing the Sun Devils to punt.
Do you believe this was targeting? ????⤵️ pic.twitter.com/X4vfPoT0m1
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) January 1, 2025
While it will be left to the social media and at-home officials to determine if it was the right call or not, the football gods knew that it wasn’t the right call.
With less than a minute to play, Texas drove down the field, setting senior kicker Bert Auburn up for a 38-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining on the clock. Auburn, who missed a 48-yarder on the Longhorns’ previous offensive drive, botched his second field goal of the game to send the game into overtime.
bert auburn misses the game winning field goal; doink pic.twitter.com/lHGXV4CLAL
— ◇ (@H00DH3R0) January 1, 2025
People may lie, but ball don’t.
Can Cam Skattebo give Arizona State one last fight for Peach Bowl comeback victory?
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Reporter Jordyn Bennett covers the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State, Phoenix area sports and sports related topics. You can follow him on his X account, @j_bennett_live
