The unintended consequence of JaCorey Thomas' weak targeting call makes it even worse

The punishment did not fit the crime. Very late in the second quarter, JaCorey Thomas was ejected from the Sugar Bowl for targeting on what looks to have been a clean hit on Ole Miss wide receiver Cayden Lee. While the Rebels did not capitalize on the penalty, Thomas had to miss the second half of the College Football Playoff national quarterfinal. Had he been out there, maybe Georgia wins this?

Trent Smallwood of Rivals brought up a fantastic point about how brutal Thomas' ejection really was...

This play not only ended his season with Georgia, but also his UGA career, as he is out of eligibility.

For those who need a refresher, here is the controversial hit in question: Was this really targeting?

Admittedly, this was a terribly officiated game. The Big Ten officials really made it a point to make it all about them. This was arguably the worst call that went against Georgia. These hare-brained zebras missed one of the most obvious face mask calls of all time that went against Ole Miss. In the end, Thomas did not have to see his career end like this. He played in 47 games over the last four years.

Because he played in six games as a freshman in 2022, Thomas has exhausted all of his eligibility...

Targeting ejection unfortunately ends JaCorey Thomas' Georgia career

While we are all in favor of player safety, the targeting penalty needs some major reconfiguation to say the least. Not only is it way too punitive, but it is such a ticky-tack judgement call that constantly has people up in arms. If that was targeting, then how was Gunner Stockton getting pile-driven into the ground while he was up in the air not a penalty either? The Big Ten has the worst officiating crews.

For as painful as it may sound, this was the play of consequence that began to tip the scales in Ole Miss' favor. Georgia did enter halftime with a two-score lead, but it helped set up a bad third quarter for the Dawgs. More importantly, a depleted defense suffered a blow it could not afford. Not only did Georgia lose Thomas in the second half, but linebacker Raylen Wilson was out long before halftime.

To attempt to tie a bow on this, targeting may need to go away from the game entirely. It is too negatively impactful when it is enforced. If officials want to use unnecessary roughness as a loose barometer for plays that appear to be too physical for the gladiator sport of football, that will surely suffice. In the end, Georgia was simply not sound enough on defense to keep Chambliss fully at bay.

Rather than play a game of woulda, coulda, shoulda, maybe Georgia just needs better coordinators?