Brutal Grayson McCall injury was also officiating malpractice in Wake Forest-NC State

The NC State Wolfpack lost a critical part of their offense on Saturday to a scary injury. Quarterback Grayson McCall scrambled on third down and nearly reached the line to gain when he was met by three Wake Forest defenders in a brutal collision.

McCall was crunched and fumbled the ball, which was scooped up by a Demon Deacon player and returned all the way down the field to the NC State 2-yard line.

Dangerous hit on Grayson McCall should've been targeting

McCall lay stunned on the ground after taking multiple shots to the head and body from the borderline dirty tackles. No targeting calls were made and the play wasn't reviewed despite video replay showing all three defenders lowering their helmets and making clear contact with the Wolfpack passer's head and neck area.

Before anybody tries to surgically pick apart the video for proof the tackles were legal, I'll save you the effort: the hit doesn't necessarily need to make contact with the affected player's head or neck to be considered targeting.

According to the rule, targeting can be called when the tackler lowers his head to lead with the crown of the helmet to make a tackle regardless of where he makes contact. The whole point of the rule was to eliminate players from being hit in the head and from using their heads to make tackles.

In the case of McCall, all three defenders used their head to hit him — a dangerous play for all involved. Even though there was a fumble caused, that's not enough to constitute a play on the ball, a knocked-out player is bound to drop any object in their hands and go limp.

In an era of football where leagues are trying to protect quarterbacks, the ACC failed miserably in this case where now it's unclear if McCall will be able to return to action.