Texas fans seemingly bullied refs into reversing a pivotal pass interference call by throwing bottles
No. 1 Texas football caught a huge break on a reversed call in the third quarter during its marquee game against No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night.
As the Bulldogs were driving down the field and the Longhorns were down 23-8 in the third, Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron snagged a colossal interception and ran it back into Georgia territory to set up his team in the red zone.
However, the referees called defensive pass interference on Barron as he was covering wide receiver Arian Smith. There was jockeying between both players on the route, which doesn’t typically draw a flag.
Texas fans were absolutely enraged by the call and began to throw trash on the field to express their displeasure.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian was also extremely irate over the call, though he made a gesture to the fans to stop throwing trash onto the field.
The stoppage in play must have sparked a change of heart for the officiating crew, as the flag was soon rescinded to set up Texas for an eventual touchdown.
In a game with plenty of dramatics, this might have taken the cake.
Did the trash-throwing fans force the refs into changing this call? The world may never know, but it’s funny to think that it may have.
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
AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 19: Texas Longhorns fans throw bottles onto the field after a defensive pass interference call overturned an interception against the Georgia Bulldogs during the third quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. The call was reversed giving Texas the ball. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Feature image courtesy of ESPN.