Texas got away with one of the more egregious targeting no-calls of the season, and the officiating whiff cost Arizona State in crunch time of an eventual 39-31 Texas victory in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
During Wednesday’s Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt’s pass got tipped at the line by a Texas defender and landed awkwardly in the hands of wide receiver Melquan Stovall for the catch.
In an instant, Texas safety Michael Taaffe came barreling in and snacked Stovall helmet-to-helmet for the tackle. Stovall stayed on the game turf with an injury, and the game officials reviewed the hit for targeting.
Since the hit happened on third down, a targeting call would have given Arizona State a fresh set of downs and excellent field position to set up a game-winning field goal or touchdown.
The final call from the replay didn’t make it into a targeting call for some bizarre reason, which made Arizona State punt the ball back to Texas.
I don’t understand what targeting is anymore.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 1, 2025
A targeting call changes the entire dimensions of the game’s final moments, and it’s genuinely impossible to understand how Taaffe wasn’t flagged for targeting with the way he hit a defenseless receiver.
Texas got the ball back, missed a field goal and the game went to overtime.While Arizona State got extra life after regulation, the team should have been granted a targeting call and given a chance to win it in the fourth quarter.
At the least, the Peach Bowl gods felt it just that Texas not get the walk-off field goal in regulation.
— dubs408 (@dubsvidstouse) January 1, 2025
