It's a call that Miami football fans are still pretty dang upset about. In the national semifinal showdown between Ole Miss and Miami, stud defensive back Xavier Lucas was called for a bogus targeting penalty. He was ejected and Lucas is now forced to miss the first half of the CFP title game.
Miami must hold off this Big Ten behemoth and Lane Kiffin for 5-star Jordan Seaton
All of that for a clear miss by the refs even after a review? That's unfortunately the case. While speaking to the media leading up to the massive tilt with Indiana, Mario Cristobal didn't hide his feelings when asked about Lucas being out for the first 30 minutes of action - he's still disgusted by things:
Miami's Mario Cristobal believes targeting rule suspending a player for 1st half of next game should be changed. DB Xavier Lucas will miss 1st half Monday. "We feel it was unjustily administrated & now it impacts the last game of the season."
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 18, 2026
Mario Cristobal remains unhappy with refs over the Xavier Lucas targeting call
No one can disagree with what Cristobal had to say there. It was a terrible call at the time and the fact that the decision was upheld made things even worse. With Indiana's offense being so great, of course led by Fernando Mendoza, Miami is going to need all the help it can get on defense.
Not having Lucas for the first half is going to sting and it's going to put extra pressure on the pass-rush to deliver for Cristobal and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman. Plenty of eyes will be on Rueben Bain Jr., as he's going to want to make life tough for Mendoza in primetime.
Entering the action, Miami is a 7.5-point underdog. Things went as high as 8.5 points, hinting that not many analysts in Sin City think the Canes are going to be able to keep this one close. We respectfully disagree with that, as a dog fight is on the way.
With that said, Miami needs to play close to perfect football if it wants to keep its CFP title hopes alive and everyone will have to be at their best. Unfair adversity has arrived with Lucas forced to be on the sidelines for the first two quarters, but the Miami defense needs to execute a 'next man up' mentality vs. Curt Cignetti and his players.