Un-sportsman-like Conduct

I'm not taking a position, just playing the Devil's Advocate -- what the NCAA is trying to do is change a certain aspect of the tackling culture, which means they pretty much have to deal with unintentional targeting as severely as intentional targeting. The targeting rule isn't an arbitrary stance against some random type of hit, after all. It's a rule specifically designed to prevent the sort of injuries those type of hits cause.They can't prove or arbitrate intention, so they're making the rule a blanket rule. Their purpose is to reduce injuries, and an accidental targeting hit is no less dangerous than an identical deliberate one. So if players know that even unintentional "targeting" will be called, they presumably take greater care not to hit in a way that could cause the sort of damage targeted hits cause, even accidentally. Over time, that leads to fewer unintentional "targeting" hits because the culture changes when players learn to tackle and hit more cleanly and more safely. When you know the refs don't give a damn about your intentions, you make certain they can't question your actions. The rationale behind the rule -- reduce some of the more dangerous types of football injuries -- is thereby served.

The motive for penalizing unsportsmanlike behavior is a question of a value system rather than practical necessity. Unsportsmanlike behavior, while occasionally quite lacking in sportsmanship, doesn't cause actual harm in itself. If you add harmful elements like punching, gouging, whatever, it's no longer just unsportsmanlike behavior, and there are more severe penalties for those cases.

"Accidentally?" GTFO

Claude was lucky he didn't lose a finger...