Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart did not hold back on his criticism of the officials following Georgia’s 30-15 win over the Texas Longhorns.
“They tried to rob us with calls in this place,” said Smart after Georgia’s road win. What calls is Smart referencing?
During the second half, Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith initiated contact with Texas Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron, who intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. However, the play was called back for a defensive pass interference penalty on Barron. Was this penalty the wrong call? Yes, but the game had a lengthy delay because Texas fans threw bottles and trash on the field after the penalty’s announcement.
During the delay, the officials huddled. After the bottles were cleaned up several minutes later, the officials reversed the pass interference penalty against Texas. As a result, the interception stood, and Texas had the ball inside Georgia’s red zone.
College football replay officials are not like those in the NFL. They are not able to change or waive off obvious calls that are spotted from replay. However, in this case the SEC crew elected to change its decision, which rewarded Texas fans for buying time by throwing trash on the field.
“Yeah, he (the official) just said the guy got it wrong,” said Smart when asked about why the officials changed the call. “The guy called it on the wrong guy, which it took him a long time to realize that. So it’s one of those things that I don’t know what I’m allowed to say or not say, so I won’t comment because I want to respect the wishes of the SEC office.”
“I will say they’ve established 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. That’s unfortunate,” continued Smart.
The officials also assessed Georgia with two targeting penalties in the second half.
