SEC admits Tennessee's onside kick vs Texas was 'incorrectly officiated'
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Tennessee football nearly pulled off an upset win over No. 1 Texas in a dramatic comeback in Week 4. But the Volunteers shouldn't have had the chance to tie the game with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.
The Vols recovered an onside kick with 1:22 left in the game on Sept. 26, but the SEC announced on Sept. 28 the play was "incorrectly officiated." One official threw a flag after the kick was recovered, although it was picked up after discussion from the crew.
"The onside kick with 1:22 to play in the Texas at Tennessee football game on Saturday was incorrectly officiated and should have resulted in a five-yard penalty on Tennessee and a replay of down," the conference said in its statement.
— SEC Officiating (@SECOfficiating) September 28, 2026
The penalty stems from Tennessee punter Jackson Ross drop-kicking the football, which is only allowed on an onside kick from the 35-yard line. Ross drop-kicked the ball at least a yard behind the restraining line, which should've resulted in a flag and a replay of the onside kick.
Moreover, the SEC said Ross "may not change his lateral position between the hash marks," adding that the spot "can change only after a charged timeout or on a subsequent kick."
Tennessee technically could have recovered the onside kick on an ensuing attempting to score on its final possession of the game, though the chances of successfully pulling off consecutive onside kicks are slim (as is any onside kick). The recovery ultimately didn't matter, as Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon's Hail Mary as time expired was defended by Texas.
"The Southeastern Conference regrets the error and will continue working with the Secretary/Editor for NCAA Football Rules and officials to ensure consistent application of free-kick rules," the conference wrote.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian also called for the conference to replay the onside kick after the game, calling it a "gray era" with how the Vols kicked it.
"We need to get a ruling on how they kicked it because there’s a lot of gray area in that and obviously, one of the officials thought it was a foul and threw it." Sarkisian said. "They ended up picking it up. We’ve got to get a ruling on that because that was a bit unique, walking into a drop kick like that."
Ross also said Tennessee had put hours of work into the onside kick situation.
"That’s the first onside kick I’ve ever done but we put hours of time into little things like that, getting our alignment and assignment and things like that," Ross said. "To execute on my first time and for (Arion Carter) to recover was awesome. I’m so proud of him. Just gave us a chance to claw the game back."
Why did Tennessee's onside kick vs Texas count?
Tennessee's onside kick recovery in the fourth quarter against Texas in Week 4 should've resulted in a 5-yard penalty and a replay of the down, the conference announced Sept. 28.
The Vols drop-kicked the onside kick like a punt, which is allowed, but only if the kick is made from the 35-yard line. Tennessee kicked the ball at least a yard before the 35-yard line, the announcement said. The kicker also changed his lateral position once the ball was made ready to play by officials, which also should've resulted in a penalty.
Tennessee ultimately made two violations on its onside kick, either — or both — of which should've resulted in a penalty. Luckily for Texas, the onside kick recovery didn't lead to a Vols win. As Western Michigan has discovered, the NCAA has no rules in place to overturn game outcomes, even in incorrectly officiated games.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC admits Tennessee's onside kick vs Texas was 'incorrectly officiated'
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