‘It’s Getting Absolutely Ridiculous,’ ‘Another Bang Up Job’ — Fans Rip SEC Officials After Questionable Flag in Alabama vs. Tennessee
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One week after a pass-interference no-call against Georgia, Alabama fans found a new flag to fight over Saturday in Knoxville. Chris Marler, a Baton Rouge radio host and longtime SEC media personality, posted a replay that he said showed the Crimson Tide getting flagged for a block in the back on a play where a Tennessee facemask went uncalled.
The post set off a pile-on of SEC officiating during No. 6 Alabama’s game at No. 14 Tennessee, which the Volunteers led 12-10 at halftime.
Chris Marler’s Post Sparks a Pile-On and a Rules Debate
Marler kept it short. He opened by crediting SEC Officiating with another bang-up job, then got to the problem: “During a replay showing a facemask, Alabama is called for a block in the back.” He added that a crown-of-the-helmet hit also went uncalled.
One fan argued the flag came after the returner was already down and that the Alabama player had simply walked into an opponent after the play. Another added it up as a 25-yard swing.
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The most pointed response marveled at officials missing two calls a yard apart: “It takes a supreme commitment to not just miss a call, but then to fabricate one on top of it.”
The Alabama site BamaHammer needed only three words: “Come on, man.”
Not everyone backed every part of Marler’s complaint. “Facemask: yes,” one reply granted, before saying it couldn’t spot the crown-of-the-helmet hit.
A separate thread became a rules argument. One fan said the hand was in the ear hole, not the facemask, before conceding it was still a flag. Others shot back that any opening in the helmet counts.
The rule sides with the second group. As Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of football officials, laid out in an October 2025 rules video, the foul covers an opponent’s facemask, chin strap, or any opening in the helmet.
The rule also sets a higher bar than a grab. A player has to grasp and then twist, turn or pull, or there is no foul.
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A Second Straight Saturday of Officiating Complaints
For some in Marler’s mentions, Saturday’s flag was one more item on a growing list. “Hard to believe how many calls have been going against bama this year,” one fan wrote. Another answered that plenty of people had told them Alabama gets all the calls.
Those complaints had fresh material. In Alabama’s 20-17 home loss to No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 10, the Crimson Tide trailed by three with under four minutes left and had reached field-goal range when Keelon Russell threw deep to Rico Scott in the end zone on second-and-10.
No flag came on Georgia safety KJ Bolden’s contact with Scott, which CBS Sports’ David Cobb wrote appeared to be obvious pass interference.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer protested to the nearest official. On the next snap, Bolden sacked Russell for a nine-yard loss that pushed Alabama out of field-goal range, and the Tide punted on fourth-and-19. They never got the ball back.
DeBoer held back from blasting the crew afterward. Asked in his postgame news conference whether the officials had explained the no-call, he shrugged and relayed what he was told: “I mean, just didn’t feel, I guess, it was pass interference.”
Some of Saturday’s replies looked past the flag to how the SEC handles calls like it. One fan complained that SEC officials “are not held accountable.”
Another fan went further: “These need to be reviewable.”
With the game midway through the third quarter at the time of writing, Alabama is locked in a battle against more than SEC referees. Despite coming into the game as a significant underdog, Tennessee holds the lead, potentially throwing the race to the SEC Championship Game into complete chaos.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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