The UCLA Bruins got pummeled in the Rose Bowl defensively, giving up nearly 500 yards of total offense and 7 yards per offensive play.
One particular Bruin defender got the worst of all arrangements when he got lit up near the end of the first half. When Case McCoy stepped up in the pocket and found Mike Davis running a shallow crossing route, Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin came back to block out any defenders in the area pursuing Davis.
The man who he met first was Andrew Abbott, UCLA redshirt junior cornerback. The result was not pretty, as you'll see after the jump.
However, despite the 15 yard penalty, the hit looked fairly legal by Goodwin. Despite a blindside block, Goodwin lead with his shoulder in making contact with Abbott, which then ended up knocking his helmet off. Although the hit was very scary, it didn't look like it deserved a personal foul.
On the other hand, perhaps the officials are trying to discourage any sort of heavy blows to the head that could result in serious or permanent brain injuries, and 15 yard penalties could be an effective deterrent to any such action up high. That being said, I'm not sure I would have flagged them for that.
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