Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 28, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I n possibly his final game at Notre Dame Stadium, Irish junior quar- terback DeShone Kizer took seri- ous punishment from Virginia Tech's defense. So much so that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly came to his star quarterback's defense after the game. Speaking specifically about a third quarter hit by Virginia Tech's Tre- maine Edmunds on Kizer — a play in which Kizer slid to the ground before being hit above the shoulders — Kelly thought there should have been a targeting call. "We're either going to protect the quarterback or we're not," Kelly said. "I don't quite understand what the rule is, because it's being officiated clearly differently." The targeting rule — designed to limit especially dangerous hits in a fast-moving sport — carries a steep price. A 15-yard penalty is applied, and the guilty player is ejected from the game. If the penalty occurs in the sec- ond half, the player is also suspended for the first half of the following game. Kelly and the Irish have been on the wrong side of the targeting rule this season. Freshman safety Devin Studstill was ejected in the first half against Syracuse for a similar hit on Orange quarterback Eric Dungey. "I've been on the wrong end of that play now this year at Syracuse and here against Virginia Tech," Kelly said. "That was clearly a quarterback that gave himself up and then was hit." Targeting is a controversial rule and is widely criticized by coaches, media and fans. In the NCAA rule book, it reads as follows: "No player shall tar- get and make forcible contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. This foul requires that there be at least one indicator of tar- geting. When in question, it is a foul." Kizer also took a big hit on Notre Dame's final drive, a play that knocked the Toledo, Ohio, native from the game. Trainers tended to the quarterback and led him into the tunnel while the Irish sang the alma mater after the game. Kelly, though, said Kizer cleared concussion tests and was symptom- free. After the game, Kizer declined to discuss the plays in detail and said, "I'm fine," when asked about his health. "I just play. I'm 250 pounds," Kizer said. "Running the ball as a quar- terback, there should be a guy there ready to hit me every time I go down. Obviously, there's a bunch of rules set in line to protect the quarterback in those situations. If neither the guy upstairs or the guys on the field felt the need to eject a guy or call target- ing, then they're right. We move on." Kizer has taken hits this season sim- ilar to the ones on Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. The pun- ishment Newton has taken, which has at times gone unflagged, prompted the star to call for a meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and get the situation cleared up. Kelly evidently has a similar plan. "I'm going to ask them to go see Roger Goodell," Kelly said. "That may be the way to do it. Maybe he could do something about it. "Cam Newton feels the same way in the NFL. It's just not right. We're either going to protect the quarter- back or we're not going to protect the quarterback. I've had this go against me, the same exact play. We lost a kid for the game. "They just have to figure out what they want to do with this. The super- visor of officials has got to make a clear edict as to how they want this officiated. He clearly has not made it clear enough how this is going to go. That's all I'm going to say on it." Kelly's gripe about the hits on Kizer wasn't his only problem with the offi- ciating. Senior cornerback Cole Luke was flagged for pass interference on a second-and-seven play at the Notre Dame 22-yard line. He appeared to play sound coverage on the pass in- tended for Tech's Isaiah Ford, but the call went against him anyway. It gave the Hokies first-and-goal and resulted in a game-tying touchdown. After the game, Kelly said the technique that Luke played has been deemed "acceptable" by officials in the past. "That's what I'm taught," Luke said. "I'm sure that's what every other corner in the world is taught, and it's just difficult when you play to what your coach wants to see and then you get called for something that is bogus. Some people make bad calls, I don't blame it at all." It was just another thing that went wrong on a cataclysmic night — and season — for the Irish. ✦ ON THE IRISH BEAT MATT JONES Staff writer Matt Jones has been with Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2016. He can be reached at mjones@blueandgold.com. Notre Dame On Wrong End Again With Targeting Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer was on the receiving end of some punishing hits, including one Irish head coach Brian Kelley believes should have drawn a penalty flag for targeting. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA