AUSTIN, Texas — With No. 4 Georgia up 23-8 midway through the third quarter, Texas fans saw their team lose a chance to gain momentum with an interception being negated by pass interference by Longhorns defensive back Jahdaw Barron. Frustrated by the call, fans threw bottles as Georgia’s offense retook the field. The beer bottles and trash on the field resulted in a delay that required Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian to walk over and attempt to calm the crowd, motioning with his hands to stop throwing stuff onto the field. But a funny thing happened during this delay of the game.
As this unfolded the refs huddled up, and after almost five minutes, the defensive pass interference call was overturned, giving Texas the ball on the Georgia 9-yard line. Kirby Smart was very animated, waving his finger at the refs after what seemed to be unprecedented action taken by the refs.
Quinn Ewers threw a touchdown pass two plays later, making it 23-15. That huge turn of events allowed the Longhorns to creep back into the game after being down 23-0 at halftime.
Following the 30-15 win by Georgia, Smart mentioned the referees, who also called Georgia safeties Dan Jackson and Joenel Aguero for targeting in the second half, which will result in each missing the first half of the game against Florida in two weeks.
“I am so proud of these guys. Nobody believed,” Smart told ESPN’s Katie George. “Nobody gave us a chance. Your whole network doubted us. Nobody believed us. And then they tried to rob us, with calls, in this place, and these guys are so resilient.”
When speaking with reporters, Smart expounded on what transpired.
“Yeah, he just said the guy got it wrong,” Smart said. “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.
But 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. And that’s unfortunate, because to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want. That’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
The lack of a delay of game penalty perplexed Smart.
“I didn’t even ask that,” Smart said. “I don’t know if it’s a warning first or what they have in terms of that. But you would think there would be some form of penalty or punishment on the team that’s responsible for it. But that’s beyond me. I don’t really know why.”
Smart was also left wondering why the referees could not figure out the correct player involved in pass interference.
“I guess the offensive guy,” Smart said. “Eleven and seven, two distinct numbers. I don’t know in all my coaching career I’ve ever seen that happen that way. And it’s pretty unfortunate.”
Georgia running back Trevor Etienne, who had 19 carries for 87 yards and three touchdowns, along with three catches for 23 yards in the win, was asked about the team’s composure following the reversal.
“We knew we was all we had, so we stayed with each other,” Etienne told ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “Keep reassuring each other. We knew we were all we had, so just having my brothers around me, I was able to keep my composure.”
During the broadcast, ESPN rules analyst Bill LeMonnier discussed the decision.
“Well, I think that somebody had the guts to step up and talk about the call,” LeMonnier said. “You know, they had the delay because of all the bottles on the field, but they got together and did the right thing.”
If Texas students don’t do this, Georgia gets ball possession. The officials had announced and marked the ball ready for play for the Bulldogs.
What a truly insane series of events. https://t.co/59avNVRYv0
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 20, 2024
Per Yahoo Sports College Football Reporter Ross Dellenger, multiple reporters have already asked the SEC office for a statement on the pass interference reversal, with th expectation of a response after the game.
