The new targeting rule has claimed another victim as Florida safety Cody Riggs was ejected on the first play of the game against Missouri for this hit on wide receiver L'Damian Washington after a 41-yard reception.
GIF: Florida S Cody Riggs ejected for targeting
Riggs makes the offending hit on the first play from scrimmage and Mizzou takes advantage.
(GIF via ESPN3)
There are plenty of things to say about the targeting rule and its implementation this year, but under the rules in place, Riggs’ penalty was pretty much textbook: he launched toward Washington’s upper body, put his arms down and made primary contact with the top of his helmet to Washington’s helmet. It wasn’t a particularly violent collision—Riggs was already slowing down, and it almost seemed like he figured out mid-contact that this was a bad idea—but under the terms of the rule, this is an ejection, plain and simple.
Missouri scored a touchdown on the very next play of the game and leads against Florida, 7-0. As Alligator Army notes, the Gators are missing star LB Ronald Powell for the game, along with several other starters; now they’re without Riggs for the balance of the game as well.
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