The Josh Innes Show - The Absurdity Of College Targeting Rule

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

I lost my mind Saturday night when one of LSU's star defensive players was ejected for targeting. In no other sport do you see players ejected for plays that are as common. Somehow, this leads to a discussion of people I hate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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When we were talking about college football and talking about the teams that are good, the teams aren't good, the quarterbacks that are good, the quarterbacks that suck, the overrated, the underrated, all that shit. We saw multiple examples over the weekend of college football targeting and why it's a joke. It happened in the LSU game. Early on in the game, LSU lost their best defensive player, the heart and soul of their defense on a targeting call, a completely incidental helmet-to-helmet contact that didn't injure anybody, yet by the letter of the law, my man, Whitweeks had to be thrown out of the game.

It also happened in the South Carolina game with Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt, or I guess, yeah, Vanderbilt would have hit Lenora Sellers and knocked him out of the game. The hit seemed benign. I don't even think it was helmet-to-helmet, and that guy got tossed out of the game, too. And I don't know that there is a worse rule in all of sports. And you know, I love talking about different rules and rule changes and things that need to be improved and things that don't. It's one of my favorite topics. You know, we've seen a lot more, for instance, we've seen a lot more kickoffs this year,

off returns. That is great. The rule change works. That's good. I like that. I like when we see that kind of shit. What I don't like is when rules are obviously dreadful and nobody changes them. Let's play a couple commercials and get into it. This episode is brought to you by Square. You're not just running a restaurant. You're building something big. And Square's there for all of it. Giving your customers more ways to order, whether that's in person with Square kiosk or online. Instant access to your sales, plus the funding you need to go even bigger. And real-time insights so you know what's working, what's not, and what's next. Because when you're doing big things, your tools should to.

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is every fabulous item I see from winners like that woman over there with the designer jeans are those from winners ooh are those beautiful gold earrings did she pay full price or that leather tote or that cashmere sweater or those knee-high boots that dress that jacket

those shoes is anyone paying full price for anything? Stop wondering. Start winning. Winners, find fabulous for less. I understand that you have to air on the side of caution when we're talking about player safety, quote-unquote player safety. At the end of the day, it's a violent game. People play hard and there are going to be times when incidentally you have a

helmet-to-helmet situation. And these things should be judged based on severity and they should be based judged on intent, right? Like, you can tell if someone's got vicious intent. You can tell if someone's head hunting, right? Like, you have to look at these things engage them, whether, like flagrant fouls. So flagrant fouls in basketball, you got flagrant one, flagrant two. You're like, all right, you're tossed for that when this one's just a technical, right? It's got to be the same way with targeting. And I understand that it's more subjective, but you have to be able to tell if someone's intent was malicious or not. Now, in theory, all intent is malicious because

it's a violent sport and you're crushing people. Like you're trying to hit someone as hard as you can, right? Fine. But I see tons of legal hits that are harder and more devastating than some of these helmet-to-helmet calls. You've got a dude who's got a finite number of college football games he can play. You've got another group of 100 dudes who are dependent on that dude to help them win games. You have coaches whose livelihoods, their jobs are on the line because these dudes play

these games. And you're kicking out star players, fun players, good players from games, over bullshit. It has to change. It must change. If you want to be pussies and ticky tack about the calls, be pussies and be ticky tack about the calls. Flag them 15 yards.

These dudes should not be thrown out of games for this. It is wrong to do that. Throwing dudes out of a game for a helmet-to-helmet hit is a joke. And then that kid's going to have to, I say kid, but that player is going to then have to miss the first half of the next game. because of an incidental helmet to helmet. And nobody ever calls the foul on the offensive player. The offensive player is allowed to duck his head and lower his head and make contact with the defensive player.

And if they do, somehow it becomes the fault of the defensive player. Think me and Bernard Pollard used to talk about this all the time when Bernard was on the show. Like, as a defensive player, what are you supposed to do? You go in trying to hit a guy between the numbers, right? Like you're trying to hit a guy in the chest. And then what happens? that guy lowers his head once you've already engaged and lowered your head and you make incidental contact helmet to helmet flag is thrown you're thrown out of the game

the one with the LSU game and I'm not just saying this because I'm an LSU guy I'm saying it because it's reality it was egregious like you have to be able to look at these and go all right that was more of an incidental thing we'll throw the flag we're not going to toss the guy we have to call it a 15 yard penalty because they made contact helmet to helmet fine and I also feel like helmet to helmet contact is made on like 90 something percent of the tackles but whatever but throwing dudes out of games because of that is unacceptable and it doesn't happen anywhere else unless it's super out of the ordinary right like in basketball if like a guy gets punched in the face he's going to get thrown out of the game because that is out of the

ordinary that is super duper out of the ordinary you know if you argue balls and strikes and you're tossed anyway but like there are certain ways that you'll get tossed out of a baseball game, right? But, like, you kind of know that they have to be really severe. Like, Bull Durham, what did he call him? He must have called him a cock sucker. Like, that kind of thing, right? Like, you know that there's a certain limit, and once you cross that, it's out of the ordinary.

It's out of the ordinary for the argument. It's out of the ordinary for the foul. It has to be a super-duper, aggressive, flagrant foul for you to get just ejected from a basketball game. It has to be super out of the ordinary. These hits in football are not super out of the ordinary. They are just part of the game. They are not malicious. They are not over the top.

They are not exaggerated. They are just football plays. And it is the only sport where people get thrown out for football plays. Look at soccer. There are red cards, right? And if you watch soccer at all, it has to be a very extreme example of a really aggressive tackle that someone is taken out of the game for. You get a red card. You're tossed out.

Same with hockey. I mean, you have to really do something to get tossed out of these sports. In football, you literally just have to make a football play. You make a football play in which you accidentally graze the helmet of another guy. He's fine. His bell's not rung. He's not concussed. He's cool.

So, dig this. As I imagine, a lot of you didn't see Vanderbilt v. South Carolina. So here's what happened in that. So Lenora Sellers gets hit. He lays on the ground for, you know, seemingly 10 minutes. They peel him off the turf and bring him the backup quarterback. They run another play with another quarterback, and right when that play is started, they challenged the previous play for a targeting.

You had 10 minutes while Lenora Sellers was concussed on the ground to decide if you were going to look at this play. And they decide to challenge this or review it in the middle of the next play. And then they tossed the guy. And the result also really plays a big factor in these things. It's like if a guy gets hurt, we look at the hit as far worse than it was. A lot of dudes get hurt on plays that are not like big hits. It's usually the ones that are the big hits where the dudes aren't getting hurt. It's all about just the way you fall, the way you hit your head, whatever can really screw you up.

But it is the only sport where basically doing what you are taught to do can cause you to get in a situation where you are tossed from the game. And it is the only sport where that is the case. it does not happen in basketball, it does not happen in baseball, it does not happen in hockey, it does not happen in soccer. Like, you might get a five-minute penalty, you know, the most severe penalty in hockey because you fought. Well, fighting while it's part of the game is a penalty. Hitting somebody hard is just the way football is played. Yet, we don't judge it that way. Yet, it is the only sport where you are doing what you are taught to do and where you're doing

something that is not out of the ordinary and your toss from the game. And I was super pissed about this. And I'm hearing these dweeps on TV Oh, by the letter of the law, they have to toss and fuck you, Greg McElroy, you ginger fuck. Like, I was just super pissed off. Like, rarely

do I get that pissed off when watching the sporting event, and rarely do I get that pissed off by the announcers? Although I find myself more annoyed by people than I used to be. This is the thing that Coach Prime can't help me with, but just the look of certain people. Like, I have a list of people that when I them. I'm annoyed by them. One of them is Greg McElroy. I hate Greg McElroy. So anything Greg

McElroy says, I hate. I have a list of coaches I feel the same way about. Like Kevin O'Connell, the coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Tell me when you look at that guy, you're not annoyed by him. Just look at it. There's a look. Like, he has a smug look on his face. Like, there's something about the look on this guy's face that annoys me. And it makes me laugh that they suck offensively now because it shows like, hey, you ain't all that brilliant, chief. you have a good quarterback, you look brilliant. You have J.J. McCarthy. You don't look so brilliant.

But I'm easily annoyed. Like, I understand that you guys know this from listening to this pod for any amount of time. But, like, I'm annoyed by the fact that Sean Peyton wears a hoodie, yet he just takes a pair of scissors and cuts the sleeves to three quarter length. Not half. Doesn't cut the sleeves all the way off. Three quarter length. Like, why wear a hoodie? Put on a henley.

or was that trying to think of other people just when I see them I'm like I hate this person and there's many of them and Jilly goes every time they show someone do you hate this guy? Yep I do like basically if it's someone I probably hate them especially when I'm drinking

especially when I'm watching the ball games especially if I'm pissed off so whenever LSU has a star player thrown out on a bullshit targeting which is a bad rule and he's thrown out of the game a guy that's worked his ass off to play heart and soul the defense gets his ass tossed out of a game and I'm yelling at the goddamn TV.

I'm losing my mind over it. I hear Greg McElroy. It's targeting. Fuck you, Greg McElroy, you Alabama, cuck. Kevin O'Connell was one of the last... I like Rahim Morris. I was watching him last night. A guy never seems to smile.

Very serious guy. I'm trying to think of other people who just like the look of them bothers me. Just like I look at him. I'm like, I don't like you. There's something about... Oh, Billy. Napier, the coach at Florida with like his weird

like goes to the bar where he's like just give me the zero right on top brother. Like he looks like the dude, the white guy that shows up at a basketball game like at like a pickup game and like tries out all of the and one mixtape tour moves at the game like at this pickup game like he sits around and he just dissects

this shit and isn't really good at basketball but he's picked up on the fact that like he can kind of do wacky dribbles and shit and thinks he's big shit so he rolls up to the pickup game and like he's the goddamn professional He looks like the professor He annoys me Really annoyed

He just has a trashy look about him I hate him Trying to think of all the SEC coaches And who just the look of them bothers me Fucking Kirby Smart Just looks like the villain In like a golf movie

Like he looks like the guy Who's like trying Like he's the guy that's trying to get all the fucking The wacky people kicked out of the golf club He's like you can't be at our You can't be in our country club. He looks like Don Johnson and Ten Cup, except not good looking at all. Dabo Sweeney, you church, bitch. I hate you too. Good for you running down your stupid

hill. I really love that too. Like when LSU played Florida or Clemson a couple of weeks ago, they're like, we must show you this amazing entrance for Clemson. So they ride a bus to the stadium and then tiptoe down a hill. Boy, that's exciting shit. So I hate Daubo. I just hate the look of him. Dabo. I really hate Mike Norvelle, the coach at Florida State. He annoys me. No reason why.

He just looks like an asshole. I hate him. Let's see. I actually like Sam Pittman. Although Sam Pittman in Arkansas, like he used to seem more jovial, but now it seems like he's lost a little bit of weight, and he just always looks angry.

But he probably looks angry because he's going to get fired at some point. Like there's no way it can sustain. they just keep losing. And while Arkansas is never going to be a great program, they can't let you sit around and win five games every year. Like they have too much money. I actually love Lane Kiffin. I should hate Lane Kiffin, but I love Lane Kiffin.

He looks like a Timu Daniel Tosh, but I like him. But I like him. I actually like Brian Kelly too. Like I can see why people hate him, but I like him. Until he loses like in two weeks to somebody and then I'll hate him. But anyway, I can go down. I can just keep that. You just name someone.

Hey, do you hate this person? Yep. But I think you have to earn my love. I'm not easy in that way. You have to, you have to earn my admiration. I'm trying to think. I hate Shane Stike and he's a weird looking dude. And he didn't deserve to win that game because of his stupid play calling and the way he sat on the ball to settle for a 60-yard field goal for the win.

A 60-yard field goal that was wide by a mile. And then they got bailed out by a leverage call, which never gets called. Anywho, we will, oh, I hate the Harbaugh's, both of them. I like the Baltimore Harbaugh better because he doesn't give off like the fake vibe. Like everything about Jim Harbaugh comes off as contrived and fake and I hate him. Anyway, I love you guys, though. Go listen to the Coach Prime audiobook, it'll change your life.