Steve Sarkisian, and then Kirby Smart, absolutely lost it over chaotic Texas-Georgia penalty sequence
Things got heated and controversial late in the third quarter of No. 5 Georgia’s road game against No. 1 Texas on Saturday.
After a dominant first half, the Bulldogs had a 23-8 lead over the Longhorns through much of the third quarter. On third-and-10 from Georgia’s 31-yard line, Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron picked off quarterback Carson Beck and returned it 36 yards just nine shy of completing a pick-six.
But officials called it back for a pass interference flag against Texas, which outraged the fans at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. So they threw water bottles and maybe other things on the field.
After Texas coach Steve Sarkisian went over to the crowd and told them to stop, he returned to the sideline and had a proper tantrum over the questionable penalty.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 20, 2024
The game didn’t immediately resume, and eventually, after a notably long amount of time and the field was cleaned up, officials reversed the penalty call back in Texas’ favor. So then it was time for Georgia coach Kirby Smart to lose his cool on the officials.
THE REFS CHANGED THEIR MINDS! NO HOLDING! KIRBY SMART IS PISSED!!! pic.twitter.com/Po1Xu13gsv
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) October 20, 2024
While college football coaches have a solid history of overreacting and freaking out on the sidelines, Sarkisian and Smart, for different reasons, were understandably livid. It was a debatable call in the first place, and then to reverse it after so long is wild.
Chaotic scene in Austin:
A Texas interception vs Georgia was — *initially* — negated after the officials ruled defensive pass interference on the play.
Texas fans then threw bottles onto the field, leading to Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian pleading with the fans to stop. pic.twitter.com/v5yJQMSqol
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 20, 2024
Texas ended up scoring on its next drive to shrink Georgia’s lead to 23-15.