Clemson's James Skalski ejected for targeting in College Football Playoff title game

Tom Gatto

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Clemson's James Skalski ejected for targeting in College Football Playoff title game image

Clemson lost linebacker James Skalski to a targeting ejection in the third quarter of Monday night's College Football Playoff championship game against LSU.

Skalski lowered his head and hit LSU receiver Justin Jefferson with the crown of his helmet after Jefferson caught a pass from Joe Burrow.

MORE: Live scoring updates, highlights of LSU-Clemson

The Pac-12 officiating crew working the game stopped play to review the play, ejecting Skalski after a video review.

Skalski, a junior, was one of Clemson's most active defenders while he was on the field, registering four tackles (three solo) and a sack.

Targeting is college football's most controversial rule, and the Skalski call produced a strong — and in many cases negative — reaction from players past and present, including an NFL MVP and a Pro Football Hall of Famer:

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.