Georgia upset No. 1 Texas in a game marred by Longhorns fans throwing trash onto the field

CNN
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The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs defeated the No. 1 Texas Longhorns 30-15 on Saturday night in Austin as the Bulldogs ran back Trevor Etienne scored three touchdowns in a game marked by Texas fans throwing trash onto the field.

The incident began late in the third quarter when Texas trailed 23-8. The referees called a pass interference penalty that initially negated an interception and a 36-yard return by Longhorns safety Jahdae Barron that had brought the crowd to its feet.

Texas fans expressed their frustration with the call by throwing water bottles and other trash onto the field at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium being cleaned up by cheerleaders and other team personnel.

After discussion, the referees reversed the decision and two plays later, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to the running back Jaydon Blue. The Longhorns were now down 23-15 after hitting the extra point.

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) said in a statement that officials were allowed to gather to discuss the game and that although the original call “was not properly carried out, it is unacceptable for debris to be thrown at any time.” “The incident will be reviewed by the agency that oversees the SEC's “athletic policies and procedures,” the conference added.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart told reporters after the game that he feared the incident could set a “precedent.”

“I will not comment because I want to respect the wishes of the SEC office,” he said. “But I have to say, now we have a precedent: If you throw a lot of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, there's a chance that the decision will be reversed, and that's unfortunate because to me that's dangerous.”

Texas was back in the game after Georgia scored 23-0 Halftime lead, the Bulldogs extended their lead when Etienne scored his third touchdown of the night in the fourth.

According to the AP, citing sports technology and betting company Sportradar, Texas' 15-point loss was the biggest defeat for a team ranked No. 1 at home since 1982.

This also ended the Longhorns' perfect record, falling to 6-1. There are now no undefeated teams in the SEC, marking the first time since 2007 that every team in the conference has lost a game before the end of October, according to ESPN Research.

“Unfortunately we didn’t play our best football tonight, but we were still competitive,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters afterward. “Hopefully we can get another blow against them, they are a good football team… The beauty of this format is that losing a game like this doesn't kill us, everything we want is still ahead of us.” The challenge for Our goal is to regroup.”

Texas will do it probably lose their top spot in the AP poll after the loss and may be replaced by the Oregon Ducks or maybe even Georgia.