| NEWS Tennessee lost to Alabama, but the Crimson Tide had a lot of help from officials and the SEC needs to address it - AtoZ Sports

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The Tennessee Vols played about as badly as they ever have under Josh Heupel in the second half against Alabama on Saturday.

And the coaching/playcalling decisions were probably the worst we've seen from Heupel since he arrived at UT in early 2021.

But that shouldn't be the narrative after Tennessee's 34-20 loss in Tuscaloosa.

The officiating on Saturday wasn't just bad, it was almost blatantly obvious that the officials were doing everything they could to make sure Alabama didn't lose.

And look, I'm sure Bama fans are already rolling their eyes and yelling "excuses" to the top of their lungs.

But I'm not accepting that. Not after that debacle.

You can't win in Tuscaloosa when the officials are that one-sided.

I mean, it's bad when even Dan Wolken, who never hesitates to take a shot at Tennessee, is pointing out the terrible officiating.

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The terrible officiating started early. In the first quarter, the Vols had to settle for a field goal after a blatant hold on tight end McCallan Castles was missed (the hold happened before Joe Milton's passed was tipped). Tennessee should've had a first down there. Instead, it was fourth down and they kicked a field goal.



On Alabama's first series in the second half, an obvious hold on Vols defensive lineman Tyler Baron wasn't called on the Crimson Tide's 46 yard touchdown. The penalty should've negated the touchdown. It was a game-changing no call.



If you're wondering if the official's whistles worked, they did. They had no problem calling a ticky-tack hold on Vols tight end Jacob Warren in the second half that set the Vols' offense back. And they quickly blew the whistle for a barely noticeable hold on Tennessee cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally when the Vols had stopped Alabama on third down.



Even on one of the Vols' final efforts in the fourth quarter, Bama defensive back Malachi Moore was draped all over Squirrel White. Crickets from the officials.

There were plenty of other blatantly awful calls that I'm sure you'll see floating around on social media.

The only penalty called on Alabama was a five yard penalty for an illegal snap that actually saved the Crimson Tide from a potential turnover/negative play.

By the way, if Bama fans want to mention the play where Elijah Herring tried to punch the ball out but missed, maybe they should look at the clip of Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton donkey kicking Vols defensive back Doneiko Slaughter right in front of an official.



Tennessee could've played better. The offense was atrocious in the second half. The playcalling was unimaginative. But even then, the Vols still had a chance in the second half to win the game. And if the officials call the game even close to fairly, Tennessee has a great chance to win.

Nick Saban and Alabama stole that win. The officials made sure they didn't lose. That should be the narrative. And the NCAA should open a full investigation into this game. It's all there on film, you can see for yourself. It's beyond time for SEC officiating to be held accountable.
 
This article reminds me of the Texas beat writer who was reporting that ESPN was stating Saban was headed to Texas...when he was the guy on ESPN radio suggesting it was going to happen.

Notice the guy referencing tweets...that are his own?
 
They act like no-calls only happened in that game.

Holds are the most missed call in the game of football. But the officials are humans. You can't expect them to catch every single transgression in every single game. Seven officials trying to watch 22 guys at the same time...things are going to get missed.

And if these guys think that passionately about it, then they need to contact those officials personally and tell them about it. But they want to breed controversy and post about it online to try and get others to agree with them.

Clock is at 00:00
Game is over
Numbers are in the book

Let it go or actually do something about it...not just whine on the internet.
 
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I bet he didn't say anything about this!
It was bad enough it was not called on the field, but inexcusable that the booth didn't initiate a review.

ARTICLE 4. No player shall target and make forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulder. This foul requires that there be at least one indicator of targeting. When in question, it is a foul. ...

Note 1: "Targeting" means that a player takes aim at an opponent for purposes of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball. Some indications of targeting (emphasis NCAA's) include but are not limited to:

  • Launch-a player leaving his feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body to make forcible contact in the head or neck area
  • A crouch followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area, even though one or both feet are still on the ground
  • Leading with helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area
  • Lowering the head before attacking by initiating forcible contact with the crown of the helmet
 
Did this guy watch last years game? With all of that crap they had to hit a last minute FG to win the game. This was a 14 point game. So a few of the calls change still unlikely the Viles win. Viles are a worthless bunch.... I have NO use for that program or their fanbase. When they were being dominated for 15 years and had ZERO chance to win, I still despised them because I have had enough experience with them over the years to know who they are at their core. Did not matter to me that they had not won in 15 years. I want continued domination of the Vile orange.
 
Wow! 17 to 6! That was the number of penalties BAMA had to UTs in last years game. One of the most egregious being the pass interference call on Koolaid that was only thrown after Koolaid intercepted and returned the ball 20 yards the other direction late in the game that would’ve sealed the win. Anyone can gripe and moan about the refs, they are human and miss things as these kids are moving lightning fast. Holds can be called on every single snap.
As for the forearm the Roydell’s head, I’ll give it to Gary Danielson. He did say that the guy was attempting to punch out the ball, but he missed and that by rule, he should’ve been flagged for it.
No one made Heupel go for it on 4th down inside his own territory. He got away with one of them when we threw the puck in the end zone that would’ve potentially put us ahead. To me, he got away from what they do best and that was run with extra wide sets. Also, White was hurting us from the slot and the kid was having a career game in the first half. He finished the game with 10 catches, but only 2 came after halftime. That’s on him and his staff!!
 
UT had only 1 call that didn't go there way in a bad spot, the hold against Burton. Outside of that, none of the other calls amounted to anything or created anything for us except the pre-snap penalties and they can't complain about those.

Bama had 130 yard of penalties last year to UT's 39...funny how quickly they forget things went very well for them last year.
 
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