On one of the most critical plays of the game for the Texas Longhorns, sophomore safety DeShon Elliott delivered a crushing blow to Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Torii Hunter, Jr. in the end zone to dislodge the ball and save a touchdown.
The big hit from Elliott — who earned the nickname The Kraken in high school for his jarring tackles — came as Texas clung to a 31-28 lead late in the third quarter after allowing two Notre Dame touchdowns.
It also forced a field goal attempt that was partially deflected by Texas junior defensive end Naashon Hughes to maintain the lead.
But because Elliott hit Hunter, Jr. rather high, there were a lot of questions about why the big safety didn’t receive a targeting call on the play. Notre Dame fans were upset about the lack of a penalty call.
On Tuesday, the Big 12’s coordinator of officials explained what happened:
B12 officiating guru Walt Anderson on no-targeting UT call: "Play was reviewed. Replay (refs) did not feel action warranted egregious foul."
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) September 6, 2016
The hit was hard enough to leave Hunter, Jr. down on the field for several minutes. He’s now suffering from concussion-like symptoms and could miss the home opener for Notre Dame against Nevada this weekend.
Here’s wishing him the best with his recovery.