Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel didn’t do a very good job of hiding his disgust about the officiating in the Vols’ 31-14 to Georgia on Saturday. However, he was a bit unique in the way he displayed his disdain for the way the game was called.
Following the game, Heupel simply turned the microphone to the reporter who asked about officiating following the Vols eighth consecutive loss to Georgia. The questions were specifically about a questionable face mask penalty that was called against the Vols and a substitution penalty called against defensive lineman Jaxson Moi, who didn’t make it to the sideline in between plays.
Moi’s lackadaisical effort led to an unusual review of the play, which certainly benefited Georgia as the Bulldogs came back from a slow start to beat the Vols in Sanford Stadium. The face mask penalty that was referenced was difficult to determine as the Georgia player’s helmet came off and there wasn’t a definitive camera angle to draw a strong conclusion on the play.
Officiating, for better or worse, was certainly a part of the Vols’ loss to Georgia. In addition to the aforementioned penalties, there was also a questionable call on a shovel pass that was initially ruled a fumble by Georgia, an incomplete pass to Georgia receiver Oscar Delp that could have been ruled a fumble, a possible false start by Bulldog quarterback Carson Beck that was questioned during the broadcast and a non-call on a potential pass interference penalty as Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was trying to complete a pass to receiver Squirrel White. Nevertheless, the Vols made plenty of mistakes themselves.
Tennessee failed to recover a fumble by Georgia receiver Arian Smith, who managed to regain the ball after losing it following a 23-yard pass in the second quarter. Receiver Dont’e Thornton dropped a pass that was easily catchable in the game as he was trying to make sure he stayed in bounds.
EDGE rusher James Pearce was called for an offsides penalty that gave Georgia quarterback Carson Beck a chance at a free play, which resulted in a downfield pass while cornerback Jermod McCoy, who was in coverage, looked dejected during the completion.
Certainly, there was plenty of blame to go around for the Vols loss to Georgia. However, it’s hard to determine what was more liable for the loss, some questionable officiating calls that didn’t go the Vols way or their own mistakes.
