The Ole Miss defense held Boise State to just 13 points Thursday night despite playing most of the game without All-SEC linebacker Serderius Bryant, who was ejected from the game in the first quarter due to a helmet-to-helmet collision with Broncos quarterback Grant Hedrick.

In case you missed it, here’s the play:

As ESPN’s Rece Davis explained in the clip, Bryant violated the NCAA’s targeting rule, which now results in an immediate ejection from the game.

There are actually two rules against targeting in the current rule book, and Bryant violated both of them. They are:

  • Rule 9-1-3, which states “no player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet.”
  • Rule 9-1-4, which states “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.” Among the list of examples given for a defenseless player is “a player in the act of or just after throwing a pass.”

As you saw in the video, a play resulting in an ejection for targeting can be reviewed, and if it is found that no targeting occurred on the play in question the ejection can be overturned.

However, Bryant both lowered his head to lead with the crown of his helmet and laid a hit to the facemask of a defenseless player, making his ejection rather clear-cut.