‘SEC Officials Are Jobbing Alabama,’ ‘Are These Refs Paid by Georgia?’ — Fans Push Back on Refs After Replay Erases QB Reese’s Pick vs. Georgia
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Alabama briefly had an interception against Georgia on Saturday night, until a replay review overturned it.
Officials ruled that Alabama linebacker QB Reese intercepted Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton with the game tied 17-17, a play that would have given the Crimson Tide the ball in the red zone. A video review overturned the call, and Georgia kept the ball on second down. Unsurprisingly, fans were not happy.
Fans Divided Over Overturned Alabama Interception
The ruling drew pushback from viewers who said the video never showed the ball on the turf. “I couldn’t see definitively that the ball hit the ground,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
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Another fan had no doubt, writing that “the ball clearly bounced off his arm, never hit ground at all” and calling the reversal a terrible call.
Had the call stood, it would have been Stockton’s second interception of the night. Alabama’s Bray Hubbard picked him off in the second quarter, though the Crimson Tide went three-and-out after taking over at the Georgia 40-yard line.
Stockton’s PFN Impact grade of 89.8 through Week 5 ranks sixth of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks, and he entered Saturday with 13 touchdown passes and one interception in five games.
Not everyone saw an interception. Bad Sports Refs, an account dedicated to exposing bad calls, called the play “an obvious incomplete pass” and argued that ABC broadcasters Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit were pushing for an interception because it was Alabama.
The game was still tied 17-17 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
Running back EJ Crowell’s 1-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the first half gave Alabama a 14-10 halftime lead, the first time Georgia had trailed all season. Stockton’s 14-yard touchdown run put the Bulldogs back in front before the tying field goal.
Fans Question Officiating as Georgia Draws More Penalties
Another fan went beyond the single call and took aim at the officials themselves. “SEC officials are jobbing Alabama. That’s an INT. All day.”
Late in the third quarter, the penalty totals leaned against Georgia, which had been flagged seven times for 57 yards to Alabama’s three for 30.
Two of those flags came on Georgia’s opening drive, which began after Georgia defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye sacked Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell, who lost a fumble.
A holding penalty wiped out a 17-yard touchdown run by running back Dwight Phillips Jr. The next play drew an offensive pass interference flag, and tight end Jaden Reddell was injured on the play. Georgia settled for Peyton Woodring’s 43-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
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CBS Sports’ John Talty wrote that the hold was not egregious but came right in front of an official.
Still, another fan saw a pattern working against Alabama. “Are these refs paid by Georgia? That is 3 plays that have hurt Alabama.”
The accusations came in a rivalry Alabama has long controlled, 45-27-4 all-time and 9-2 against Georgia in Tuscaloosa. Georgia is 2-7 against the Crimson Tide under coach Kirby Smart, though the Bulldogs won the last meeting 28-7 in last season’s SEC Championship Game.
“We think we’re a physical team,” Smart said Thursday on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show. “They’re a physical team. Let’s go find out.”
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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