On October 19, 2024, in Austin, Texas, during the third quarter of the Georgia Bulldogs’ game versus Texas at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Georgia coach Kirby Smart is seen. Image courtesy of Getty Images/Alex SlitzGetty Photographs
After a contentious penalty reversal during Georgia’s 30–15 victory over Texas in Austin on Saturday night, tensions persisted on Sunday morning.
Jahdae Barron of the Longhorns intercepted a Carson Beck pass late in the third quarter with the Bulldogs leading 23-8 and returned it 36 yards to the Georgia 9. Barron was called for pass interference by the officials, though, which rendered the interception void and gave the Bulldogs a first down at their 44-yard line.
That infuriated the fiercely politicized supporters of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, many of whom hurled water bottles and half-full drink cups onto the field and booed loudly. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was begging the crowd to stop, but the officials conferred and decided to reverse the call, nullifying the penalty and awarding Texas the ball.
The Bulldogs’ lead was eventually reduced to 23-15 by the Longhorns’ swift touchdown, but Georgia managed to win in the end. Even though the ultimate determination—that it was an interception and not pass interference—seemed to be the right one, Smart was furious that the officials would change their minds over a play that is, by definition, not subject to review.
In his post-game statements, Smart stated, “I will say that now you’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you got a chance to get your call reversed.” “And that’s unfortunate because that seems risky to me.”
In the instant aftermath of the match, Smart became even angrier, accusing “they” (probably the referees) of attempting to “rob” his side. Furthermore, he mentioned that all of the ESPN College GameDay panelists, including Smart’s mentor, former Alabama coach Nick Saban, predicted Texas to win.
Nobody believed, which is why I’m so proud of these men,” Smart said to ABC sideline reporter Katie George. “No one offered us a chance. Nobody on your network trusted us. No one took us seriously. And after that, they attempted to use calls to loot us here. And these people have such strength.
Sarkisian vehemently objected to the penalty at first, then hurried to console the supporters.
Sarkisian remarked, “I was just asking the official what he saw to warrant (defensive pass interference).” “And that’s when the trash entered the field.” I can relate to your frustration. We were all irritated at the time. I have faith in the ability of the entire Longhorn Nation to surpass that. We were able to stop it, take care of it, and regroup before they overturned the call, which gave us the chance to grab a short field, punch one in, and end the game with a single score.
The official who called the pass interference, field judge Antonio Smith, “reported that he erred, and a foul should not have been called,” according to a statement released by the SEC late on Saturday or early on Sunday. The conference did, however, also remark that the call overturn was “not properly executed” and that Texas could be subject to penalties for its fans’ object-throwing on the field.
After a contentious call at the conclusion of the Volunteers’ 31-26 loss to Ole Miss, Tennessee fans threw debris onto the field, including golf balls and at least one mustard bottle. Rebels coach Lane Kiffin was struck by a golf ball, which he kept to show officials. As a result, Tennessee was fined $250,000 by the conference office in 2021. SEC officials also promised to track down anyone who had offended and prohibit them from attending any athletic events in Tennessee for the balance of the academic year.
Part of the SEC’s statement from Sunday said, “Debris thrown on the field at any time is unacceptable.” “The Conference office will review the game disruption caused by debris being thrown onto the field in relation to SEC sportsmanship policies and procedures.”
In reaction to the SEC, Josh Brooks, the director of athletics at Georgia, issued a statement of his own early on Sunday morning, stating that the timing of the reversal seemed suspect.
“The way this particular call was reversed is something I cannot accept,” Brooks remarked. “The official said he made a mistake during the call. When did he realize his mistake, I wonder?
“What stopped him before the head official made the announcement and spotted the ball, if it was prior to the delay caused by fans hurling objects onto the field?”
Prior to their defeat on Saturday, Texas was the only undefeated team in the SEC and was rated #1. At this point in the season, both the Longhorns and Bulldogs are 6-1.
The entire comment made by Brooks is as follows:
Serving the University of Georgia is a privilege and a job, and one of those duties is to defend my coaches, the student-athletes, the staff, and the whole Dawg Nation.
“I am as upset and frustrated in some of the conditions of our game on Saturday night as I am proud of the tenacity our squad exhibited.
Using social media to publicly disparage or shame officials or the conference office is not something I think is beneficial. That would not be any more beneficial than actually throwing objects onto the field.
“I will, however, question the conference office about what transpired and why it happened the way it did. Fortunately, this did not prevent our young men from winning a close game.