ATHENS — It was an SEC crew.
If fans from both sides of the Georgia-Georgia Tech football rivalry weren’t already frothing, that little tidbit of information ought to do it. Not that such knowledge will change anything, past or future. It’s just a fact, as is the final result of Friday’s epic battle waged at Sanford Stadium — a 44-42 Bulldogs’ victory in eight overtimes.
With that defeat, Georgia Tech (7-5) now must sit idle and await its assignment for yet another nondescript bowl game to be played weeks from now at a place to be determined by others Sunday. Georgia, meanwhile, has the benefit of moving on immediately. The No. 7-ranked Bulldogs (10-2) are back in the SEC Championship game for the fourth consecutive season and will face No. 3 Texas (11-1) with a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff on the line.
In the meantime, fans of both teams have stayed busy on social media the past three days griping about this officiating call and that one made during the course of the 4-hour, 18-minute game that ended at 12:02 a.m. Saturday. On the complaint front, the edge probably goes to the Yellow Jackets, who understandably are frustrated about losing to their archrival for a seventh consecutive time and the 20th time in the past 23 meetings and enraged about a couple of calls in particular.
Tech’s complaints hinge primarily on two plays:
- The game-turning, fumble-causing hit by Georgia safety Dan Jackson on quarterback Haynes King with 2:05 remaining in regulation. Tech fans believe Jackson should have been flagged for targeting. Chaz Chambliss recovered the loose ball for the Bulldogs and play stood upon video review.
- Five seconds later, Tech safety Syeed Gibbs was flagged for interference on a pass intended for Georgia’s Dominic Lovett in the end zone. Jackets-backers argue the ball was tipped. The play was not reviewed, but TV video was inconclusive.
With both plays going in the Bulldogs’ favor, the home team was able to come back from a 14-point deficit in the final four minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime. Then Georgia went 2-for-7 on 2-point conversions and Tech went 1-for-7 during the overtime, and that was the difference the game.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart, for obvious reasons, has not revisited any of the controversial plays. Tech coach Brent Key, however, rehashed some of the calls in an interview with Atlanta radio station 680 The Fan on Monday.
- As to whether Jackson should have been called for targeting, Key told Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino: “It wasn’t called, but, yeah, I believe it was.”
- As to whether the ball was tipped on the pass-interference call, Key went into more detail. “The way I know it was tipped was from (defensive end) Romello (Height); he turned around and his reaction afterward. He was showing that he touched the ball. And when you zoom in on it … it grazes off his finger. But if you don’t call it that, it’d be hard to ever (see) it. But if you look at the reaction of the player, you can tell he grazed the ball.”
Key acknowledged that all plays are reviewed instantaneously in games these days. Replay officials are providing immediate feedback and say “clear” to on-field officials when no potential foul is detected. To get a review then, coaches must call a timeout at the risk of losing it if the call is not overturned. Key said that was an issue for him than once.
One question Key had was about a fumble recovery by Omar Daniels that was reviewed by officials early in the third quarter. TV replay appeared to show that Georgia’s Nate Frazier had the ball snatched out of his arms as he tried to score inside the Tech 5. But Key was told replay officials could not find an angle that refuted the officials’ call on the field of runner being down and the call stood.
Also, Tech fans were complaining about the spot of the ball at the end of Carson Beck run that gave Georgia first-and-goal at the 3. Some claimed Beck was out at the 5, which would not have been a first down. After reviewing most of the controversial plays on the all-22 video, Key felt like the crew probably got that one right.
Georgia fans were chirping with complaints as well. Several responded on social media with a slow-motion replay of Lovett’s first touchdown catch, which was completed despite a textbook targeting hit by defensive back Ahmari Harvey. And Dwight Phillips also was taken town on another play on a head-first, crown-of-helmet hit by Gibbs.
The Bulldogs faithful also pointed out the irony of Tech complaining of targeting a week after Kyle Efford was not flagged for what appeared to be a targeted, back-of-helmet hit of a defenseless ball-carrier in the previous game against N.C. State.
The reality is, whether it’s holding calls, personal fouls or something else, officiating is a subjective endeavor that always can be called into question in a one-score football game, especially one that included nearly 160 plays run between the two teams.
What could be interesting now is to see the makeup of the officiating crew for the SEC Championship game Saturday. Because of the number of complaints, it’s unlikely to be the one headed up for the Tech game by referee Jeff Heaser and the other eight men who made up the SEC crew.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s camp almost certainly would protest the officials that called its Oct. 19 game against Texas in Austin. Headed by referee Matt Loeffler, that group was grounded the next week by the SEC for the mistakes it made in what ended as a 30-15 win for the Bulldogs. That included officials not penalizing the Longhorns for the home crowd delaying the game for more than five minutes after littering the field with cans and bottles in protest of controversial calls.
As for Key, he was mostly gracious Monday with his remarks about the Georgia game.
“It was tough to deal with,” he said of the narrow loss to the Bulldogs. “But at the end of the day, we had a chance to win the game. Everybody’s sick at their stomach and rightfully so. But we showed everyone else what this program is capable of doing. Now we’ve got to build on that.”
Key and Smart shared a long embrace after the game. They covered their faces so that no one could see what they were saying. Three days later, they’re were still saying of they would, “keep that between us.”
They did, however, provide some context.
“Hey, there’s a mutual respect that takes place when Georgia and Georgia Tech take the field,” Key said. “ … It’s Clean Old-Fashioned Hate, and that’s what makes it special. But you don’t see our players planting flags and fighting each other. You don’t see that and that starts at the top.”
Said Smart: “We probably know what each other goes through for our fan bases better than anybody. Nobody else has been in those shoes and had to deal with that.”
The result is in the books. For Georgia, that means another meaningful game this week and for the Yellow Jackets it means another year-long sting.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
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