This encapsulates it for me. It’s a hard spot to put a 210 lb DB in...he’s coming on a slot blitz against a 6’6” QB who is considerably heavier, and the rules of the game have also taken his best option away, which is tackling low at his knees.
I’m ultimately just disappointed Shaun missed a majority of that game. I don’t think nationally, people understand how severe that call was to our chances. There’d be more focus/outrage if it was Chase Young....because he’s a star. Nationally, Wade isn’t a household name, and he’s just a slot CB....sucks you lost a DB and gave up a TD in the process, but move along. The average viewer doesn’t realize Wade’s availability has a more dramatic impact on our calls/gameplan than Young. Our defense was stout until his ejection and fell apart after.
It’s irritating me pretty badly. Not because I think they got the call wrong (by letter of the law I believe it was targeting but I also believe rule should be changed). It irritates me because you saw an OSU defense suffocating Clemson and physically dominating them.....until Wade is ejected. My irritation is in the congratulatory comments to Clemson about their “will” and “toughness”....pick any other defensive player on our team to eject, including Chase, and I think we continue to dominate. OSU was the better team. Because one of the most versatile (and somehow under the radar) DB’s we’ve ever had was ejected and changed how we could play, opened that game up for Clemson.
I’ve heard the commentary after the game about how “momentum changing” it was.....yeah, I agree. But fuck the momentum of the individual play....did you see what this defense was doing to them prior to the ejection and what happened the remainder of the game? OSU was a significantly better team. They lost because of a pretty shitty rule that almost everybody universally agrees sucks (that a targeting is immediate ejection). Clemson won because of targeting IMO, and I’ll never feel differently.
