‘Act Like an “A” Crew,’ ‘There Was No Penalty’ — Paul Finebaum Questions SEC Officials’ Late No-Call at Alabama as Georgia Fans Push Back

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Paul Finebaum has no doubt about the flag that never came in Tuscaloosa.

The SEC Network analyst called the pass-interference no-call late in Saturday’s 20-17 Georgia win at Alabama a terrible call and said a flag would have changed the outcome.

Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden collided with Alabama wide receiver Rico Scott before the ball arrived on a deep shot from quarterback Keelon Russell with under four minutes left. No flag was thrown, and the Crimson Tide, trailing by three, never scored again.

Paul Finebaum Questions SEC Crew Over KJ Bolden Pass Interference No-Call

Finebaum said the best conference in college football shouldn’t get one of the biggest plays in the biggest game of the year wrong, and he put it squarely on the crew. “That’s supposed to be the ‘A’ crew. Act like an ‘A’ crew and don’t blow calls that could very well determine the outcome of the game.”

Rules analyst Matt Austin said during the ABC broadcast that Bolden, who wears No. 4, was not playing the ball.

“He gets there early. The ball hits him in the back. It should have been a pass interference.”

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The Next Round, a live show covering the SEC and college football, posted video of what it called “a no-call on pass interference on this play”.

Georgia had taken a 20-17 lead on a 23-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring in the fourth quarter. After the no-call on second-and-10, Russell was sacked for a 9-yard loss on the next play, knocking Alabama out of field-goal range, and the Crimson Tide punted.

Alabama never got the ball back. Cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. was penalized for contact after the whistle on Georgia’s final possession, giving the Bulldogs the first down they needed to run out the clock.

ABC analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who called the game with Chris Fowler, posted video Sunday of the two reacting in the booth during that stretch. “Such a crazy sequence in the final minutes that played a huge role in deciding a hard-fought game between two outstanding teams.”

Finebaum said that if there was a silver lining for Alabama, it was coach Kalen DeBoer, who protested the no-call from the sideline. Finebaum had worried about DeBoer’s stoic demeanor, but he said the coach won a lot of support by going crazy over both late calls, as he should have.

DeBoer said after the game that the officials, a crew that included head referee Kyle Olson, gave no explanation beyond that they apparently didn’t feel it was pass interference.

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Speaking Monday on WBRC’s Good Day Alabama, Finebaum said the no-call was disgraceful and that it didn’t take an expert to see it. “You just have to have some pedestrian knowledge of college football to know that was just beyond the pale. How the back judge, who was a couple feet away, could have missed it?”

Finebaum said there ought to be a way to send a play like that upstairs for review, the way an NFL coach could challenge it. “College football, especially in the SEC, needs to open its eyes about the rules and not let something like that happen again.”

Not everyone tied the loss to the officials. Russell said after the game that there weren’t any questionable calls and that he had to do his best getting the offense into good situations.

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Some Georgia fans pushed back on the complaints, among them Vinnie Greaves, who compared the no-call to holding he said went uncalled on Alabama’s first touchdown. “There was actually no call made. Which means there was no penalty.”

Radi Nabulsi, the owner and publisher of UGASports, wrote that he saw many Georgia fans on the DawgVent who “would be happy to trade the pass-interference no-call for a correction on this ‘catch’ in the SEC title game.”

The win was Georgia’s first over Alabama in the regular season since 2007 and its third in the teams’ last 11 meetings.

Georgia (6-0) moved to No. 1 in the AP poll, and Alabama (5-1) held at No. 6. The Bulldogs host Auburn, and the Crimson Tide visit Tennessee on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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