Ever wake up with a hangover and realize you did something really dumb the night before? Like you went streaking and have no idea where your clothes are? The hangover after the Georgia game was like that. It was even worse than just getting beat 30-15. Texas fans, mostly students, had a “lack of class” moment and threw trash on the field to protest a bad call. But the ramifications from that incident might be very far reaching.
Texas fans were reacting to a bad call. Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith initiated contact with Texas Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron, who intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. But the SEC officiating crew called pass interference on Barron, negating the Texas interception. Enraged Texas fans threw bottles and cans on the field in protest. During the delay, the SEC officiating crew huddled for a long time and actually reversed the call and awarded the ball to Texas.
The optics were terrible. The refs got the call right, but it seemed like they caved to the angry Texas fans rather than coming up with the correct call themselves. No officiating crew gets five minutes to debate a call.
The problem with that is every student section in America saw that, no penalty on them for throwing objects on the field and it bought their team time. Goodness..
— Rusty Mansell (@RustyMansell_) October 20, 2024
The controversial reversal was met with immediate criticism. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was outraged after the game. “They tried to rob us with calls in this place. And these guys are so resilient. You know?” Smart said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBVFaEPxM1e/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The SEC publicly reprimanded the University of Texas and fined the school $250K dollars. In the statement, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said, “The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that took place Saturday night cannot be part of any SEC event. The SEC is assigned responsibility by its membership to enforce its sportsmanship and game management policies and these actions are consistent with that oversight responsibility, including the financial penalty and mandated reviews.”
End of story right? Wrong. Bottle throwing in an attempt to get a call overturned is quickly becoming a trend in college football.
Just seven days after the Texas incident, two fanbases tried to get a similar result. Colorado fans threw objects on the field after a touchdown was called back due to taunting. Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders addressed the crowed via a microphone to get fans to stop.
It also happened at Ohio State. Buckeyes fans tossed debris on the field after a controversial targeting call vs. Nebraska went against OSU. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day screamed and complained to officials following the call. In both cases, the officials did not change their minds after the home fans applied pressure.
For most Longhorns fans, the original incident is embarrassing. Even Texas’ “Minister of Culture” Matthew McConaughey of culture was disgusted and took to social media to scold the Texas students.
. @TexasFootball @TexasLonghorns #hookem pic.twitter.com/Vo0X8t95V5
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) October 21, 2024
Now that there are copy cats, the embarrassment will live on for weeks as Texas is mentioned as originators each time it happens.
But the real shame should be reserved for the SEC crew that reversed the call. Fans see it as a precedent that’s been set to give a crew more time to think about a bad call and they just might reverse it. If fans think they can influence a game, they’re going to try.