Targeting hits the Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY - The other half of Jordan Lomax's targeting penalty kicks in this week.

The junior free safety, ejected in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to Iowa State, will have to sit out the first half when the Hawkeyes (2-1) travel to Pitt (3-0) on Saturday.

The suddenness of Lomax's ejection threw Iowa's defense. Sophomore Anthony Gair replaced him and in his first series was called for an offsides penalty. Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson was in the process of putting kicker Cole Netten in position to boot the game-winning 42-yard field goal and probably would've no matter who the free safety was. The ejection just hurried Iowa's demise.

'I knew it right away,” Lomax said of the first-half suspension this week. 'I knew the rules for it. I just have to stay in the film room and be there for the guys who will be playing in the first half.”

That guy is Gair, a 6-2, 200-pounder from Plano, Texas. Other than the offsides, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz thought he was OK against the Cyclones. It was a small sample size, less than a quarter, and Iowa's defense was crumbling in a contain mode, so it's difficult to draw any conclusions.

'He's going to have to do well this week because he's going to be out there the first half,” Ferentz said. 'He stepped in and did a competent job. Hopefully, now he can build on that.”

Tackling and getting defenders to the ball will be front and center this week. Pitt is a multithreat offense, but its main cog is 250-pound running back James Conner, who's fourth in the country with 181.0 yards a game. Running up and meeting Conner in a violent manner will be one of Gair's main jobs Saturday.

'I think I'll be OK,” Gair said. 'I got some of the nerves out last game. I'll just focus on what I have to do and just get my mind right.”

Targeting remains a touchy subject. No one will question the rule's intent, which is player safety. The 'intent” part of the rule is probably the most difficult element to swallow for coaches, players.

Straight from the NCAA rule book: Rule 9-1-3

- Targeting and initiating contact with the crown of the helmet. No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul.

Rule 9-1-4

: Targeting and initiating contact to head or neck area of a defenseless player. No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, fist, elbow or shoulder. When in question, it is a foul.

Ninety-eight percent of targeting calls come from hits on receivers, roughing the passer penalties, hits to the ball carrier, either the quarterback or a runner, in one of two positions, upright or going to the ground or blindside blocks.

The rule specifically defines a 'target” this way, 'to take aim at an opponent for purposes of attacking with an apparent intent that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball.”

Another key element is where the contact is initiated (high on the player's body or head) and it goes beyond contact with the helmet. In this case, Lomax hit ISU wide receiver Jarvis West in the head with his shoulder. West left the game and didn't return. He's expected to be OK this week.

This was the first time since the rule was enacted in 2013 that the Hawkeyes have had a player ejected. Last season at Ohio State, OSU cornerback Bradley Roby was ejected for a high hit on tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz.

'Most people would agree, it's a hard rule to officiate,” Ferentz said. 'There are going to be a lot of mixed opinions. My feeling when it all started was when everybody in the stadium says, ‘whoa,' that's when a guy should get tossed out. That's my personal feeling, personal commentary. A tough rule to officiate.”

What does Iowa defensive coordinator and secondary coach Phil Parker tell his players in regard to this rule?

'He tells us to aim low,” Lomax said. 'If we do get into a situation like that, make sure to keep your head up. That makes it a harder call for the refs. If you have your head up, they usually won't call it.”

The flag came out. The play was reviewed, and that's the change for this season. If a player is deemed not to have committed the targeting penalty, the flag is picked up. In this case, Lomax was called for a personal foul (15 yards) and targeting was upheld in review (ejection).

'I thought he was trying to avoid targeting. That was my view of it,” Ferentz said, 'but it's easier said than done.”

' . . . It's one of those things, like a lot of bang-bang plays. It's open to interpretation. I think the intent of the rule is outstanding. To me, when everybody in the stadium says, ‘Whoa, look at that, that's targeting.' That's how I look at it. We saw one of those last year, helmet to helmet on a guy that didn't have a chance to defend himself. I get that.

'It's a tough thing. It's the way it goes. You still have to play aggressively.”

The teaching moment from this is . . .

'All you can do is know when to lay off,” cornerback Greg Mabin said. 'Don't duck your head and don't lean your shoulder into it. [But] You really can't even think about it. You can't go out there and play scared. You can't think about it, you have to react. You try your best to avoid it, but if it happens, there's nothing you can do about it.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@sourcemedia.net