Arizona State player ejected after flattening Iowa State QB Rocco Becht
If Arizona State can hold on to beat Iowa State in the Big 12 football championship game, they'll have to play their first-round College Football Playoff game without one of their best defensive players.
Arizona State defensive back Shamari Simmons was ejected in the fourth quarter after leveling Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht on a blitz. The Sun Devils were leaading 45-10 at the time of the ejection.
Simmons came through the line untouched and Becht never saw him. Simmons, who only weighs 195 pounds, hit Becht underneath the facemask and drove him into the turf. Becht stayed down for several minutes before walking off the field.
There was no penalty flag thrown on the play, but the booth initiated a review for targeting. After review, Simmons was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game. That means Simmons will have to sit out the first half of Arizona State's next game, which could be against Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Becht left the game and was evaluated for a concussion. True freshman quarterback Connor Moberly replaced Becht.
Coming into the game, Simmons had 64 tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Here's the hit that resulted in the ejection:
OH MY GOD! ROCCO BECHT GOT CRACKED!!! pic.twitter.com/BH48yYxWji
— 🏆🥇 (@fsh733) December 7, 2024
Update: Becht returned to the game and led Iowa State to its first touchdown since the opening quarter. The touchdown came on a 25-yard TD pass to Jaylin Noel and cut Arizona State's lead to 45-19.
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.