Herbstreit weighs in on Alabama's missed PI call as Georgia escapes Tuscaloosa

Kirk Herbstreit thinks the final minutes in Tuscaloosa decided Saturday's game, and he is not alone. Georgia beat Alabama 20-17, and much of the talk afterward has been about a pass interference call that never came late in the fourth quarter.

HEAVY reported that Alabama wide receiver Rico Scott got behind the Georgia secondary and was racing toward the end zone. Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden hit him well before the ball got there. No flag was thrown. A penalty would have put the Crimson Tide in scoring position with a chance to win the game.

Herbstreit called the game for ESPN alongside Chris Fowler, and both men expected a flag. Herbstreit said on the air that Bolden's contact kept Scott from working toward the middle of the field. On Sunday he posted on X, calling it a "crazy sequence in the final minutes that played a huge role in deciding a hard-fought game between two outstanding teams." HEAVY read the post as a subtle shot at the officials.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer was visibly angry on the sideline but more measured after the game. He said his team cannot leave a game in a spot where the officials come into play. When he was asked what the officials told him, he said they simply did not think it was pass interference.

The no-call was not the Tide's only problem late. Later in the quarter, defensive back Dijon Lee grabbed a Georgia player by the jersey and hit him in the head twice. The penalty gave Georgia a first down at a point when Alabama had no timeouts left to stop the clock. Video of DeBoer yelling at Lee as he came off the field spread widely online.

What it means for Week 7

The loss is Alabama's first of the season. At 5-1 and ranked No. 6, the Tide get no time to dwell on it. They go to No. 14 Tennessee (5-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ABC, a game with real weight in the SEC race. Alabama is favored by 7.5 points, and the total is 53.5. On Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, Alabama is -270, with theScore Bet at -275 as the best sportsbook price. Full numbers are on the Alabama at Tennessee odds page.

Georgia stays unbeaten at 6-0, holds the No. 1 ranking and plays at home against Auburn (3-2) at the same 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff on ESPN. The Bulldogs are favored by 19.5 points, with a total of 49.5. Georgia is -1011 on Novig, and Pinnacle has the best sportsbook price at -1167. See the Auburn at Georgia odds page.

Georgia will now be the team everyone else in the league is chasing. For Alabama, the week is about showing that the late mistakes in Tuscaloosa, both its own and the officials', do not follow it to Knoxville.