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Lovie Smith talks missed targeting call on Brandon Peters, opportunities lost against Iowa
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With under three minutes left to play, Illinois trailed Iowa 19-10. The Fighting Illini needed some sort of a score, whether it be a touchdown or a field goal to try and make an improbable comeback.
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However, neither happened. Illinois failed to convert an eventual fourth-and-nine and went on to lose the game. On third-and-nine, however, QB Brandon Peters attempted a pass that went incomplete.
He got hit on the play and many thought it should have been called targeting:
Did they really not toss that Iowa player for that hit on Brandon Peters? Wow.
— Brandon Brown (@BSB_Wolverine) November 23, 2019
So @NCAA @B1Gfootball
CHECK YOUR REFS!! Brandon Peters took a shot and no call.Explain yourself
— Aarman Sethi (@asethi03) November 23, 2019
Here’s Illinois coach Lovie Smith after the game on the non-call:
Here's Lovie Smith on the non-targeting call on Brandon Peters, who did not return to the game after the helmet-to-helmet hit pic.twitter.com/2irCUMcJxS
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) November 23, 2019
Smith believes something should have been called, but he didn’t harp on it. He continued to talk about how the game was lost earlier than that and that Illinois had missed opportunities throughout the contest.
Illinois, now 6-5, wraps up its regular season with a game at home against Northwestern next week.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.