The Southeastern Conference released a late-night statement on Saturday following an ugly scene from No. 1 Texas’ SEC matchup against No. 4 Georgia at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
The No. 4 Bulldogs pulled off the 30-15 road upset of the No. 1 Longhorns, but an incident involving Longhorns fans following a controversial pass interference became the biggest storyline from the game. Late in the third quarter, Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, with Barron returning the ball to the Georgia 9-yard line.
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However, Barron was called for defensive pass interference, even though replays showed Bulldog receiver Arian Smith appeared to initiate the contact on the play. To voice displeasure with the call, Texas fans hurled beer cans and garbage onto the playing field, disrupting play for nearly 10 minutes. During the stoppage, the officiating crew got together, discussed, and ultimately decided to pick up the penalty.
A couple of plays later, Texas scored a touchdown and pulled within 23-15 after trailing 23-0 at halftime. It was the Longhorns’ final score of the day.
SEC statement on overturned call, throwing debris
The SEC issued the following statement early Sunday in regard to the overturned call and Texas fans throwing debris on the field.
“With 3:12 to play in the third quarter of the Georgia vs. Texas game, Texas intercepted a pass at the Texas 46-yard line and returned it to the Texas 9-yard line. Texas was flagged for committing defensive pass interference on the play, which resulted in Georgia maintaining the ball with a first down.
“The game officials gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced, at which time the calling official reported that he erred, and a foul should not have been called for defensive pass interference. Consequently, Texas was awarded the ball at the Texas 9-yard line.
“While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time.
“The disruption of the game due to debris being thrown onto the field will be reviewed by the Conference office related to SEC sportsmanship policies and procedures.”
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Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian statements
While Georgia was able to pull away and still pick up the significant road victory over the Longhorns, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart wasn’t willing to let the situation go without talking about it following the game. He expressed concern with how the events unfolded in his immediate postgame interview.
“No one gave us a chance. Your whole network doubted us. No one believed (in) us. Then they tried to rob us with calls in this place,” Smart said in his postgame interview. “These guys are so resilient.”
In his postgame news conference, Smart also claimed the SEC set a precedent in the way officiating handled the call.
“I will say that now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said. “That’s unfortunate because to me that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want and not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
Sarkisian also expressed disappointment in the way fans handled the call on the field.
“We all were frustrated in the moment. But, you know … Longhorn nation. I know we can be better than that,” Sarkisian said in the postgame news conference.
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Will the SEC fine Texas for fans throwing garbage on field?
The SEC has previously fined a school after fans threw debris onto the field. On Oct. 17, 2021, Tennessee fans at Neyland Stadium threw a French’s mustard bottle, water bottles, beer cans and a full hot dog — among other debris — with 10 seconds remaining in a contest against Ole Miss. A neon yellow golf ball even hit Rebels coach Lane Kiffin.
The Vols fans threw the items on the field after tight end Jacob Warren was ruled short of reaching the first-down marker on fourth-and-24 with less than a minute left in a 31-26 Ole Miss win. The play was stopped for 18 minutes.
Two days later, the SEC hit Tennessee with a fine of $250,000.
“The disruption of Saturday night’s game is unacceptable and cannot be repeated on any SEC campus,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement at the time.
“Today’s actions are consistent with the oversight assigned by the membership to the SEC office, including the financial penalty and review of alcohol availability. We will use this opportunity to reemphasize to each SEC member the importance of providing a safe environment even with the intensity of competition that occurs every week. We will also re-engage our membership in further review of the alcohol availability policy to consider additional measures for the sale and management of alcohol while providing the appropriate environment for collegiate competition.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: SEC statement on officiating, debris in Texas-Georgia game
