Saturday’s matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs was one of the more highly anticipated games of the college football season.
And it more than delivered on entertainment value.
Georgia escaped Tuscaloosa with a 20-17 win, but it wasn’t without drama.
There were two defining moments that seemingly determined the outcome of the game. Perhaps none more controversial than the pass interference no-call late in the fourth quarter on Alabama wide receiver Rico Scott in the end zone.
The play had the internet up in arms, and 24 hours after the fact, ESPN “College GameDay” analyst Kirk Herbstreit finally made it known how he felt about the play.
Kirk Herbstreit Reacts to Controversial Pass Interference No-Call
Herbstreit and former “College GameDay” host Chris Fowler were on the call for the Alabama-Georgia game, giving them a front-row seat to all the fireworks.
Scott got behind the Georgia defense and sprinted toward the end zone. Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden launched himself into Scott well before the ball got to him, and many fans expected to see a flag thrown — but that was not the case.
“And here comes a flag — has to be, no?” Fowler said during the broadcast. “Rico Scott was down there and looked like he got run over.”
“You’re expecting the flag,” Herbstreit responded. “… He was working his way toward the middle of the field and Bolden really prevents him there with the contract.”
Fans flooded social media for hours after the play criticizing the refs for not calling pass interference and setting the Crimson Tide up in scoring position for what could’ve been a game-winning touchdown.
Moreover, Herbstreit took to X on Sunday, throwing some subtle shade at the officials for having such an impact on the final score.
“Such a crazy sequence in the final minutes that played a huge role in deciding a hard-fought game between two outstanding teams. Georgia leaves Tuscaloosa with a 20-17 win,” Herbstreit posted on X. “What a battle this game was… It always comes down to the few big plays at the end when these to teams face off!”
Kalen DeBoer Sounds Off on Missed Pass Interference Penalty
After the game, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked how he felt about the officials not calling what seemed to be blatantly obvious pass interference.
“We can’t put the game in that situation where the officials come into play,” DeBoer said. “So, we’ve just got to control the things we can control.”
He was then asked what the officials said to him after he blew up on the sideline after not seeing a flag thrown on the play.
“They just didn’t feel like, I guess, that it was pass interference,” he added. “That’s all you’re going to get [from the officials].”
However, the non-PI call wasn’t the only controversial moment of the game.
Later in the quarter, defensive back Dijon Lee got chewed out by DeBoer after he took a costly penalty for grabbing a Georgia player by the jersey then striking him in the head twice. The play resulted in a UGA first down, and Alabama had no timeouts left to stop the clock.
Videos went viral on social media of DeBoer shouting “You just cost us the d*** game” at Lee.
Kirk Herbstreit Breaks Silence on Controversial Alabama-Georgia Ending