AUBURN, Ala. — The officials were a key figure in Georgia’s 20-10 win over Auburn.
So much so that it’s difficult to pick out what was the most controversial moment from the evening.
The most animated Georgia coach Kirby Smart got was when he was asked about whether or not he called a timeout in the fourth quarter.
Before a critical 3rd-and-9 with 12:10 remaining, the officials initiated a stoppage in the game. After some confusion, the head referee announced that no timeout had been called and that the play clock would be reset.
In-stadium video showed Smart moving toward the sideline official while bringing his hands together. To some, they saw a coach frantically calling a timeout to avoid a delay-of-game penalty.
Smart presented a very different story.
“Yeah, they’re clapping,” Smart said. “So, I told him before the game, if these guys clap, it’s a penalty. They can’t clap because it will fault snap. I’ve lost games on that before in the stadium. And I told him, I said, they clap. I want to tell you, I got somebody in the box watching every play. They were clapping. So I ran over to him and said, ‘They’re clapping. They’re clapping.’ And he thought I called timeout. And so I wanted to make sure he understood.
“Go lip-read, because I’m screaming, they’re clapping. They’re clapping.”
Smart asserted that he didn’t need to call a timeout because Georgia was going to get the play off.
After the play reset, Gunner Stockton found Colbie Young for a 26-yard gain to put Georgia on the Auburn two-yard line.
But a blindside block penalty on Cash Jones negated the first down. After a pass to Zachariah Branch, Georgia would end up missing a 45-yard field goal attempt.
The controversial call proved not to matter in the end. The same cannot be said for the sequence that occurred at the end of the first half.
Auburn had the ball on Georgia’s one-yard line. Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold attempted to sneak the ball into the end zone. But inches before he got into the end zone, Georgia linebackers CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson teamed up to punch out the football.
Kyron Jones picked the ball up and appeared to run it back for a touchdown. But the officials had deemed that Jones was down, spotting the ball at the Auburn one-yard line.
Smart said he received no official explanation from the officials as to what was called.
“All I was told was someone saw a clear recovery, but they said he was down,” Smart said. “I still don’t know he was down. The official said that he was down. Not the official that watched it, a different official said that he was down when his back was over the guy’s legs. I saw the ball from the sideline jostle out. I couldn’t tell if it was across the line or not, but I didn’t know who got it. Then Kyron popped up with it way downfield. There was no explanation.”
The stop proved pivotal not just from setting up Auburn’s second touchdown of the game, but it also propelled Georgia to its first points of the game.
The Bulldogs drove 88 yards on 12 plays before halftime to set up a 29-yard Peyton Woodring field goal. The drive saw Auburn get flagged for a targeting penalty, a roughing the passer call and an offside penalty that gave Georgia 30 yards.
“The kids never quit,” Smart said. “That’s never been more evident than a punch out on the goal line, which we practice all the time. Raylen and CJ, whoever did it, it was an amazing play.”
In total, the teams were flagged for 17 penalties and 163 yards. Auburn was the more penalized team, drawing 11 flags for 103 yards.
Coming out of halftime, Georgia went on to outscore Auburn 17-0. The win moves Georgia to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in SEC play.
It was far from easy on Saturday, but the Bulldogs found a way to get it done in the end.
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