The Miami Hurricanes head into the College Football Playoff national championship game with some pretty good news on the injury front. Elija Lofton has been ruled out, and Damari Brown appears to be trending towards a game time decision, but every other contributor avoided being on the availability report and appears good to go, including […]
The Miami Hurricanes head into the College Football Playoff national championship game with some pretty good news on the injury front. Elija Lofton has been ruled out, and Damari Brown appears to be trending towards a game time decision, but every other contributor avoided being on the availability report and appears good to go, including Ahmad Moten, Sr., Akheem Mesidor, and OJ Frederique.
However, thanks to college football’s own controversial rule, the Hurricanes’ defense will still have to try to hold the Indiana Hoosiers in check without one of their most important players – starting cornerback Xavier Lucas.
Lucas was flagged for targeting in the second half of Miami’s 31-27 win over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl. He hit Ole Miss WR Cayden Lee with his shoulder, but the contact occurred to Lee’s head, and Lucas was sent to the showers.
Based on the NCAA’s rule, Lucas is suspended for the first half of Monday night’s clash with the Indiana Hoosiers. It feels like a heavy and unfair penalty because it is, particularly given it wasn’t an intentional and egregious hit. At some point as a defender, you have to commit to going into a hit, and a wide receiver’s body position changes in a millisecond, and some guys just miss. This was an example of exactly that. Now, as a result of playing football, Lucas will be watching with his helmet in his hand for the first 30 minutes.
Mario Cristobal was asked about the hit on Sunday morning at his joint press conference with Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, and he feels as though the rule should be revisited.
“Certainly do. We feel it was unjustly administered, and now it impacts the last game of the season. We do have the ability, again, as an officiating crew and the powers that be to revisit that to give every team due process and their best ability to compete in this game.“
Indiana’s offense is a handful, with Omar Cooper, Jr. Elijah Sarratt, and Charlie Becker forming a terrific trio of pass catchers. Miami is being severely hamstrung by this rule. Hopefully for Miami’s sakes, they can continue to control the game on offense early on with long, sustained drives and keep Indiana’s offense on the sideline.
Because if they don’t, an already extremely tough offense will be even tougher for the Hurricanes to stop. And on the game’s biggest stage, that’s a real shame.
Category: General Sports
