The Southern Line
Alabama's case against the officials tops SEC entries on USA TODAY's Week 6 Flop 10
USA TODAY's Week 6 Flop 10 lists three disputed calls that hurt Alabama in its loss to Georgia, along with Arch Manning's late mistakes against Oklahoma.
Alabama lost to Georgia on Saturday, and the officiating in that game made one national list of the weekend's worst moments. In its Week 6 Flop 10, USA TODAY Sports ranked the referees from the Georgia-Alabama game near the top. The list also includes Texas quarterback Arch Manning and Oregon.
Jordan Mendoza of USA TODAY listed three decisions that went against Alabama in the close loss to Georgia. The first came in the third quarter. Linebacker QB Reese appeared to intercept a pass that would have given the Crimson Tide the ball in scoring range, but replay ruled it incomplete. In the fourth quarter, Georgia's Demello Jones hit Ryan Coleman-Williams in a way that looked like targeting, and no flag came out. The play Mendoza called the most damaging came later. With Alabama in Georgia territory, KJ Bolden hit receiver Rico Scott before the ball got there, and again nobody threw a flag.
Mendoza noted that losses can't always be pinned on officials, but he concluded that "the Crimson Tide do have a case on this." Georgia's win keeps the Bulldogs unbeaten. Alabama has its first loss and walks away with a list of complaints.
Texas earned its own entry for how it lost to Oklahoma in the Red River game. The Longhorns fell 27-24 and handed the Sooners 17 points along the way, according to the report: a blocked punt in the end zone, a Manning pick-six that gave Oklahoma the lead in the fourth quarter, and an interception with 19 seconds left that set up the winning field goal. Mendoza wrote that Texas hadn't looked like a No. 1 team for some time and that Manning didn't seem to have improved.
The list's summary also says LSU "got owned" this weekend. The No. 10 Tigers' Week 6 game was an overtime decision at Kentucky. Oregon's seven-turnover, 17-15 home loss to UCLA filled the third spot.
The officiating complaints don't change Alabama's record, and the Tide's schedule doesn't ease up. Next Saturday they go to Knoxville for Alabama at Tennessee, the Third Saturday in October, with very little margin left in the SEC race. Alabama is favored at -277 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game. FanDuel has the best sportsbook number at -235. The spread is Alabama -6.5 and the total is 55.5.
Georgia returns home to face Auburn. On Novig the Bulldogs are favored at -1011 in Auburn at Georgia, and the spread is 18.5 points. Hard Rock Bet has the best sportsbook price on Georgia at -1400. The Bulldogs got through Tuscaloosa unbeaten, though some of the calls that helped them there are now under national scrutiny.
The SEC office has not said anything about the calls in the source report. For now Alabama has no official answer and has to get ready for a road game against a rival.
