This is just a piece from a long article by Alex Byington in the Dothan Eagle this morning. Mostly 800 pages on "The Prayer in Jordan Hare". I picked this out because of the "Controversy" over whether it was targeting by Ford on the last play of the game. I know it's already been shown that it was nowhere near targeting, but some fans won't let it go. I may be wrong, but it seems Murray handled what was one of the worst cases of actual targeting (Last year's SECCG) with class. Gotta' give him credit here...even when his own coach won't let it go. partial coppage a la pasta Dothan eeglz.kum
When asked about the game’s final play, when Auburn senior defensive end hit Bulldogs senior quarterback Aaron Murray on fourth down, forcing the ball to fall harmlessly to the turf as time expired, Georgia head coach Mark Richt gave the implication it could have been considered “targeting,†a new and hotly contested rule this season that is meant to protect defenseless players from overly vicious hits.
"I watched it. It was a hard hit, but I don't even know what targeting is anymore sometimes,†Richt said. “I'll look at this one and it is, and I'll look at another one and it's not, and I'm wondering what is the difference.
“It's been confusing and problematic in a lot of ways.â€
His quarterback, though, was clear that Ford’s hit was clean.
“No, I don’t think (it was targeting). I went back and watched it because people kept asking me ‘Was that targeting?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t think so,’†Murray told Georgia beat writers Tuesday. “So I went and watched the film and he hit me pretty much right in the chest.
“He hit me real hard. I was real sore from that one.â€
Fellow Auburn senior Jake Holland, who was on the sidelines for the final play, agreed completely.
“I thought it was a clean tackle. I didn't see any targeting there,†Holland said. “The way I see targeting is if it's defenseless and the guy had the ball so, you know.â€