Despite being a two-touchdown underdog, Arizona State pushed Texas to the brink in an instant classic at the Peach Bowl on Wednesday. The Sun Devils overcame a 24-8 fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, but ultimately fell short in a double OT thriller, 39-31.
While it wasn’t the outcome that they wanted, Arizona State has nothing to hang their heads about, and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark released a statement on Thursday that started by expressing how proud he is of the way ASU represented the conference in Atlanta.
“I’m incredibly proud of how Arizona State represented the Big 12 in the CFP Quarterfinals,” Yormark said. “While the outcome didn’t go our way, the Sun Devils proved they are one of the most talented teams in college football this season.”
The commissioner didn’t stop there, however, as he went on to say that he’s had multiple discussions about the no-targeting call late in the fourth quarter.
“As a member of the College Football Playoff management committee, I have had multiple discussions seeking clarity surrounding the targeting call on Arizona State’s final drive of the 4th quarter with Richard Clark. Moving forward, we need to address CFP officiating to ensure national standards are developed,” Yormark said. “These standards will be crucial to the CFP’s future, and I look forward to discussing them with my fellow committee members when we meet next.”
Here’s a look at the play that Yormark is seeking clarity on.
On 3rd & 15, with just over a minute left in the game, Sam Leavitt completed a nine-yard pass to Melquan Stovall, who was immediately blown up by safety Michael Taaffe.
Stovall was still in the process of securing the catch when the hit occurred, which makes him a defenseless player. Plus, there was clear and evident forcible contact to the head or neck area, making this a textbook case of targeting.
While it wasn’t called initially, there was a review process to determine whether targeting occurred, and it appeared a certainty that the penalty would be enforced and ASU would get a fresh set of downs and move into Texas territory. Even the ESPN broadcast team of Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer thought that targeting would be the call, and that the Sun Devils’ drive would continue.
However, after about a minute of reviewing the play, the officials determined that there was no targeting on the play, making it 4th & 5 and forcing Arizona State to punt.
Texas would miss a field goal at the end of regulation, and the game would ultimately be decided in a double-overtime thriller, but if the call had been made, the outcome might look very different.
While there’s no official word from the Big Ten on the matter, it is great to know that the Big 12 has a commissioner like Yormark working to make sure that things like this don’t repeat themselves in the future. It’s one of the many reasons why administrators around the league are so excited about the league’s trajectory since Yomark took the reins.
