LSU football: Questionable call on Devin White increases challenge for Tigers
By Les East
Published:
LSU has two weeks to stew over the fact that its defensive leader will be banned from the first half of the game against No. 1 Alabama.
Junior linebacker Devin White was ejected from the 19-3 victory against Mississippi State on Saturday night for targeting on a hit against Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.
The targeting call and ejection carries with it a mandatory suspension for the first half of the next game. The Tigers have an open date this week before meeting Alabama on Nov. 3 in Tiger Stadium.
The reaction from LSU fans in Tiger Stadium and on social media when the penalty was called was a combination of anger and disbelief.
White pushed Fitzgerald on the shoulders, but his helmet appeared to touch Fitzgerald’s helmet as the shove sent Fitzgerald to the ground.
Tigers coach Ed Orgeron was diplomatic when asked about the call shortly after the game.
“I have to watch it,” Orgeron said. “Targeting is targeting. The rule is you can’t use your helmet.”
If White’s hit on Fitzgerald violated the letter of the rule, it’s questionable whether it violated the spirit, which is to protect players from violent, dangerous, reckless hits. White’s was none of the above.
Whatever contact might have occurred between White’s helmet and Fitzgerald’s had a negligible impact on Fitzgerald.
The punishment of a one-game suspension in the biggest game of the year doesn’t the fit the “crime” of minor contact between two helmets.
The SEC issued a statement explaining/justifying the call:
“By rule, no player shall target and make forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent. The quarterback on the play was defenseless at the time of the contact. By rule all targeting calls are reviewed. The call was reviewed and confirmed.”
The statement did little to clarify the call.
“Forcible” applies in the sense that every hit in a football game is technically “forcible.” The declaration that Fitzgerald was “defenseless” is questionable. We already knew that the call was reviewed and confirmed. Reiterating that doesn’t necessarily mean that the review and confirmation were appropriate.
So the Tigers go into their showdown against the unbeaten, No. 1-ranked defending national champion without one of the best linebackers in the country.
The loss of White came when LSU had the game against State well in hand. The Tigers had their 16-point lead late in the fourth quarter of a game that the Bulldogs finished with 59 passing yards.
The Tigers defense, led by White and safety Grant Delpit, who had 2 interceptions, had harassed Fitzgerald throughout the night as they created 4 turnovers for the second consecutive game.
They had the same number in a 36-16 victory over then-No. 2 Georgia a week earlier. They committed no turnovers against Georgia and one against State.
So LSU rolls into its open date with a 7-1 record and in complete control of its destiny. If it can upset Alabama, it will be the leader in the SEC West and will be assured of getting into the CFP as long as it keeps winning.
That’s a tall order indeed, and one made more challenging by White’s absence, even for just a half.
But the position the Tigers are in, thanks to a remarkable first eight games of the season, is the best spot they have been in since entering the 2012 Alabama game with a similar opportunity.
But the controversial call on White and the inherent loss of him puts a damper on LSU’s open date this week as the showdown looms.
The consolation for Tigers fans, though, is that the team is coming off a dominant defensive performance, one that transcends White, even as good as he is.
Delpit continues to perform as one of the more dominant defensive players in the country, so much so that Greedy Williams is getting overshadowed.
The Tigers held the Bulldogs to two conversions on 14 third downs. They allowed a mere 260 yards, though State had some success on the ground, finishing with 201 yards but never reaching the end zone.
That enabled LSU to win handily in a game in which it rushed for just 110 yards and finished with fewer total yards than State (239).
Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has coaxed some remarkable performances out of his defense in his three seasons at LSU.
It will take the most remarkable one yet in order to knock off the Crimson Tide.
Doing so without White would make it that much more remarkable.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
