Peach Bowl hit on Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. was illegal, Big Ten officiator says

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The hit took Harrison Jr. out of the game, one Georgia would ultimately win

A critical turning point of the 2022 Peach Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal between the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes was when star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. was knocked out of the game on a hit that was flagged as targeting, but then overturned. Harrison Jr. wouldn’t return to the game, and the Bulldogs would win the game 42-41 en route to another national championship.

Despite the hit initially being called illegal then overturned, some believe that the hit was illegal and shouldn’t have been changed. Add Big Ten officiating chief Bill Carrollo to that list.

Speaking at Big Ten media days, Carrollo said that the hit by Georgia S Javon Bullard on Harrison Jr. should’ve been a penalty, even if it wasn’t called targeting.

From Carrollo, via Bucknuts 247:

“I’m not here to hash through the problems. But when you have a play like that and most people think it should have been a personal foul, they didn’t call that. They didn’t execute that well on it. They should have had a personal foul with targeting. Then, if you want to take one off …

Last season, there was an emphasis on correct rulings for targeting calls, meaning a lot of calls ended up getting overturned. This overturned call created a major storm on social media and was a massive shift in the game.

At Big Ten Media Days, Harrison Jr. spoke about the hit, saying that he believes the Buckeyes win that game if he doesn’t get knocked out of the game. It’s definitely one of the bigger ‘what-ifs’ that have taken place in college football recently, and how targeting is called this year could be a major storyline.