‘We Can’t Put the Game in That Situation,’ ‘Clear PI Gets a No Call’ — Kalen DeBoer Won’t Fault Officials After KJ Bolden No-Call in Loss to Georgia
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Georgia safety KJ Bolden was at the center of back-to-back snaps late in the No. 2 Bulldogs’ 20-17 win at No. 6 Alabama on Saturday night, and the first one ended without a pass interference call.
Trailing by three with under four minutes left, Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell went deep to wide receiver Rico Scott in the end zone on second-and-10. Bolden, a junior, made contact with Scott as the receiver turned back for the slightly underthrown pass, and no penalty was called.
On the next snap, Bolden came on a blitz and helped sack Russell for a 9-yard loss, knocking Alabama out of field-goal range. The Crimson Tide punted on fourth-and-19 and never got the ball back.
No-Call on KJ Bolden Draws DeBoer Protest and Alabama Boos
The Associated Press wrote that the contact appeared to be clear pass interference. Scott finished with two catches for 28 yards. On Pro Football Network’s grading board, Scott’s PFN Impact grade of 79.9 this season ranks tied for 173rd of 718 graded and qualified FBS wide receivers, in the top half, but hardly much to write home about.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer protested to the official closest to him on the sideline, and the crowd of 100,077 at Bryant-Denny Stadium kept up a steady chorus of boos after the sack that followed.
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“I mean, we just, we can’t put the game in that situation where the officials come into play,” DeBoer said after the game, steering clear of criticizing the crew when asked about the no-call. “We just got to control the things we can control.”
The fans, however, weren’t as dismissive.
“KJ Bolden with a clear PI gets a no call,” one fan wrote, also accusing the officials of robbing Alabama.
In the second quarter, Alabama’s Bray Hubbard intercepted Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton at the Bulldogs’ 29, giving the Crimson Tide a short field.
“Clear face mask by Georgia here that wasn’t called,” another fan wrote shortly after that turnover.
Alabama went backward on that possession and was pushed out of field-goal range before punting, though the Tide still carried a 14-10 lead into halftime on EJ Crowell’s 1-yard touchdown run as time expired.
Matt Stewart Calls Bolden’s Sack a Key Late-Game Play
Another fan took aim at Bolden over a different moment, answering a reply that a face mask can’t be called after a play by writing that “you can’t just rip a players helmet off after the play is over” and that “KJ Bolden is so dirty.”
Still, Bolden’s official line shows seven tackles, three of them solo, along with a half sack, half a tackle for loss and a pass defended.
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Matt Stewart, an Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator for ESPN and SEC Network, called Bolden’s third-down sack “the game clinching play” in a post shortly after the final whistle.
Officially, Bolden shared that sack with Valdin Sone, each credited with half, and Georgia got the ball back with just over three minutes to play. Alabama still had all three timeouts, but Dijon Lee Jr. was called for a personal foul on the Bulldogs’ next possession, handing Georgia the first down it needed to run out the clock.
Looking Ahead in Week 7 to Auburn
The win, Georgia’s first over Alabama in the regular season since 2007, moved the Bulldogs to 6-0 and 4-0 in SEC play ahead of a Week 7 home game against Auburn on Saturday. The AP wrote that the result should lift Georgia to No. 1 in its Top 25, with top-ranked Texas losing to Oklahoma.
Alabama, now 5-1 and 3-1 in the SEC, plays at Tennessee the same day, and the AP wrote that the Crimson Tide remain in playoff contention despite letting a chance to take control of the SEC race slip away.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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