Kansas football's Lance Leipold after targeting: ‘I can’t keep spending money that way’
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
LAWRENCE — On Saturday, at first, it looked like Kansas football’s defense forced a turnover on an Oklahoma State drive late in the fourth quarter.
Jayhawks cornerback Syeed Gibbs sacked OSU quarterback Banks Bowen and forced a fumble. Defensive lineman Gage Keys recovered it. At that point, all KU would need to do is send out its offense and try to run out what was left of the clock.
But then came a review of the play to assess whether Gibbs had committed targeting while delivering a punishing hit on Bowen. Then came the call that Gibbs, in fact, committed a targeting penalty. And not only was Gibbs disqualified for the rest of the game, but the Cowboys were able to continue their drive and ultimately score another touchdown.
The score itself didn’t significantly impact the outcome of the game, as Kansas ultimately won 38-21 against Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks (5-4, 3-3 in Big 12) still picked up a key Big 12 Conference victory. But once again, it left coach Lance Leipold reacting to a targeting call on one of his players.
“I can’t keep spending money that way, OK?” Leipold said after a smile and a long pause. “I don’t know what targeting is anymore. I really don’t. And I could see possibly where it’s at, but I thought his face was up, I thought it was in the shoulder, in the chest area.
I really didn’t see it close enough where it’s at. But, I don’t know, it’s — I know it’s frustrating to a lot of people right now where it’s kind of reverted back to. So, I don’t know where it’s at. But we’ll take a good look and see if we can appeal it or not — if it’s worth appealing — and go from there.”
Leipold has been the subject of a fine before this season. Kansas received a $25,000 fine from the Big 12 for comments he made after a loss against Texas Tech on the road, although those comments weren’t about targeting. But postgame Saturday, he did what he could to avoid putting that option on the table for the Big 12 again.
Losing Gibbs for the rest of the game did affect Kansas’ depth in the secondary, but it wouldn’t be as devastating as losing key starters like linebackers Bangally Kamara and Trey Lathan. It just requires some of their teammates to step up a little more for a period of time.
Kansas looks ahead to a game on Nov. 8 on the road against Big 12 foe Arizona. It’s one of two straight road games the Jayhawks will play, including Nov. 22 at Iowa State, before returning home for their regular-season finale. That’s Nov. 28 against Utah.
“We’re always taught to, like, keep our target low when we’re going in on blitzes or tackles,” said KU safety Lyrik Rawls, who noted he wouldn’t want to be the person in that position to have to make a targeting call. “Because like, nowadays, like any little piece of the helmet, you can get a targeting call. So, like, he always tells us to stay low when we’re aiming in there. So, I feel like that’s all we can do.”
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football coach Lance Leipold Oklahoma State targeting call win
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos