Miami's Mario Cristobal laments 'unjustly administered' targeting penalty against suspended CB Xavier Lucas

Miami will be without its top pass defender for the first half of Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship due to a rule that coach Mario Cristobal said "certainly" needs to be revisited. Xavier Lucas is suspended for two quarters after being flagged for targeting in the second half of the semifinal win over Ole Miss.

At the end of an 11-yard passing play in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl, Lucas launched himself into Ole Miss wide receiver Cayden Lee and made forceful contact with Lee's helmet on the tackle. The officials called Lucas for targeting, ejected him from the game and issued a 15-yard penalty on the Hurricanes. The call stood after review.

"We feel it was unjustly administered, and now it impacts the last game of the season," Cristobal said at Sunday's joint press conference with Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. "We do have the ability, again, as an officiating crew and the powers that be to revisit that to give every team due process and their best ability to compete in this game."

Here is the play in question:

While Lucas' ejection did not cost Miami the game, the resulting suspension could prove problematic for the Hurricanes when they square off against an elite passing offense in the national championship game. If Indiana builds the same kind of commanding lead it enjoyed in its previous two playoff victories, Lucas' return to action in the second half may be too little, too late for Miami.

The suspension element of the targeting rule has long been a point of contention and is back under the microscope because of the high-profile nature of Lucas' looming absence. That one of the best players in the national championship matchup must sit because of a penalty from a separate game could be what it takes to start a meaningful conversation about changing the rule.

Had Lucas committed the targeting penalty in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl, he would have sat the rest of that game and been eligible to play the entirety of the national championship. Many opponents of the rule argue that targeting should not constitute an ejection in the first place, let alone an automatic suspension for the following game if it occurs after halftime.

The unfortunate reality for Miami is that it must shuffle its defensive backfield for the first 30 minutes of the most important game of the year. Lucas leads the Hurricanes with eight pass breakups on the year, and he has an interception, forced fumble and sack to his name, as well. The outstanding coverage man figures to give Miami a jolt when he enters the lineup in the third quarter, but he will have to hope in the meantime that his teammates can contain Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt and the rest of an uber-productive Indiana receiving corps.