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Mississippi State

Mississippi State safety Shawn Preston ejected for targeting vs. LSU

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/16/23
Shawn Preston, Mississippi State Bulldogs safety
Photo by Matt Bush / USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State‘s day went from bad to worse in the second half against LSU, with defensive back Shawn Preston ejected for targeting following a hit on the Tigers’ quarterback.

Preston met with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels in the open field and attempted to make a tackle but led with his helmet into the midriff. Daniels went airborne and was driven into the turf as Preston released his tackle.

You can check out the full hit below.

The ejection coming in the second half means Preston will miss the first half of the team’s next game, too. That game is against South Carolina on the road.

LSU would go on to finish off the drive that incurred the targeting with a Daniels touchdown run, extending its lead to 34-7 with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter at the time of this writing.

Shawn Preston ejected, LSU exploiting one-on-one matchups

LSU has gotten out to a big early lead by exploiting some one-on-one matchups in the passing game. Daniels has been more than up to the task of delivering the ball on time and on point.

Receiver Malik Nabers was the early beneficiary of those one-on-one matchups, scoring a pair of touchdowns and posting a blistering stat line.

“Yeah, obviously we’re taking advantage of some, you know, one on one matchups,” coach Brian Kelly said at halftime on the broadcast. “They got over-aggressive on the last play. And, you know, you have to do this. It’s an aggressive defense and they’re giving us some one-on-one matchups.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Daniels had a stat line that read 26-of-30 passing for 295 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. He had also run for a team-leading 60 yards and a touchdown.

Nabers, meanwhile, logged 12 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns.