Georgia took down Alabama 20-17 on October 12, but the victory is totally overshadowed by the officiating, which honestly just injected controversy into what should’ve been an instant classic between two national championship contenders. You hate to see it.
A Blown Call Everyone Saw (Except the Refs, Apparently)
Look, both these teams came ready to play, looking like legit SEC front-runners, but the officials absolutely got in the way. The biggest beef? A missed pass interference call that had everyone screaming at their screens. USA TODAY Sports’ Matt Hayes said it best: if the officials had actually called pass interference, Alabama might have won the game. So how are we supposed to ignore that? John Brice, who was covering the game right near the play, couldn’t believe it wasn’t flagged. He said it should have been, without a doubt. He saw it unfold, said it would’ve set up Alabama with first-and-10 inside the red zone. Alabama was cooking that possession, too, and then just fell apart after the no-call. Blake Toppmeyer called it a “total whiff,” not even debatable. We don’t know for sure if Alabama would’ve won if that flag came out, but that’s precisely the problem. It was an obvious blown call, and it’s a shame we’re left talking about that instead of a great game.
More Than Just One Bad Play: A Bigger Problem for College Football
And it wasn’t just the pass interference. Toppmeyer also pointed out an earlier overturned Alabama interception of Gunner Stockton that seemed, well, debatable. But the pass interference? That was a straight-up miss. Brice raised the bigger point: how many weekends this college football season have we exited talking about the officials? Way too many blunders, he says. These games have way too much on the line, including big money, to just shrug when officials miss calls this big. Hayes pushed for changes, like letting instant replay assess pass interference, something that should already be happening in both college and the NFL. Georgia won this round, but don’t be surprised if these teams meet again in the SEC Championship in December or even the College Football Playoff. We can only hope we’ll be spared of officiating gaffes if those rematches happen. For real, college football is a professional operation now, but it can’t seem to fix its officiating issues. It’s frustrating when the refs become the story instead of the players.
This whole mess really drives home the point that officiating needs a serious look across the board. The “College Football Unfiltered” podcast hosts were also talking about whether Arch Manning or Steve Sarkisian is holding back Texas, with Hayes saying it’s neither. But let’s be real, the main talk right now is still about those blown calls from Georgia-Alabama, and what it means for the integrity of these huge games going forward.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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