Ole Miss loses safety Ladarius Tennison on second confirmed targeting call of the night

The Ole Miss Rebels can get out of their own way in Wednesday night’s matchup against Texas Tech in the TaxAct Texas bowl. Earlier in the night, the Rebels lost star senior linebacker Troy Brown to a targeting call. And as Ole Miss was trying to mount a comeback in the second half, the squad picked up their second targeting call of the night — this time by sophomore safety Ladarius Tennison.

Tennison went in to make the tackle after the Rebels punted the ball back to the Red Raiders. The Texas Tech returner did not signal for a fair catch making a hit on him fair game. However, Tennison dropped his helmet and launched himself helmet to helmet at the punt returner.

What makes this targeting call worse for Tennison is his happened in the second half. This means he will be disqualified for the Rebels’ first half of their season opener in 2023.

Things are not looking good for Ole Miss. The Rebels have struggled to find consistency on the offensive side of the ball and are currently down 26-13 midway through the third quarter.

Ole Miss loses Brown in the first half to targeting

Ole Miss senior linebacker Troy Brown has been disqualified for the rest of the game following a targeting call on Red Raiders quarterback Tyler Shough.

On a first-and-10 early in the second quarter, Shough took off on a scramble. As the Texas Tech quarterback made it toward the line to gain, he began his slide. Unfortunately, that is when Brown came in and delivered a shot to the back of Shough’s head and neck area using primarily his shoulder. After a quick review, the officials confirmed the targeting, removing Brown from the game.

The Ole Miss defense has had a few bright spots against Texas Tec. But if they are to win the game, they will need to lock in and limit to foolish penalties. Especially the ones of the 15-yard plus ejection variety.