Ahmad Moten called for targeting in second half vs. Georgia Tech

Miami‘s Ahmad Moten Sr. was called for targeting during the third quarter against Georgia Tech‘s Trey Cooley.

By rule, Moten will have to miss the first half of Miami’s Week 13 game against Wake Forest. The Hurricanes are on a bye in Week 12.

The hit occured as Cooley carried the ball through the teeth of the Miami defense. After forcing a missed rackle, Cooley was deemed defenseless after getting his facemask pulled — a seperate penalty that was called for hands to the face — right before getting popped by Moten Sr., who was deemed to be leading with the crown of his helmet.

Watch the gnarly hit below:

Missed tackle, facemask, then a huge hit by MOTEN

Targeting under review AGAIN pic.twitter.com/DFyV9Ja2Vf

— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) November 9, 2024

Cooley was back in the game later in the drive, so it appears as though he suffered no setbacks from the hit. That’s good news for Georgia Tech, as Saturday is Cooley’s first game back from injury this season.

Catch the rest of the game live on ESPN as Miami looks to come back from a two-score deficit in the final quarter.

Mario Cristobal calls for Miami offense needs to be ‘in sync’ vs Georgia Tech

No. 4 Miami‘s offense stalled after its first possession in the first half, trailing Georgia Tech 14-10 at the break.

Defensively, the ‘Canes have no answer for the run game. Allowing 189 rushing yards in two quarters and being forced to stay on the field for a 10-minute drive defensively, the Miami offense hasn’t had time to be able to answer for the ground-and-pound approach the Yellow Jackets have taken this week.

Miami will receive the second-half kickoff, meaning the ‘Canes can get after it right away in the find two quarters. Before heading into the locker room, ESPN’s Kris Budden asked head coach Mario Cristobal what Cam Ward and the Miami offense has to do to get going in the second half.

“Execute routine plays,” Cristobal said. “In the throw and catch we had a couple drops in critical situations. We protected fairly well but we got to get in sync. That’s what we’re going to do.”