Kirby Smart reacts to Texas fans littering the field after a controversial play

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs got the short end of the stick on some controversial calls in their 30-15 win over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday.

Among those was when Texas intercepted a pass by Georgia quarterback Carson Beck in the third quarter, with a flag calling for defensive pass interference that drew boos from the Longhorns crowd. In the midst of this, they started throwing garbage in the field.

During the game delay due to debris on the field, the call was overturned by the umpires. This, at least on the outside, made it seem like the crew was setting a precedent that it was okay for the Texas fan base to act the way they did and potentially endanger the athletes on the field.

Smart made some comments about it after the game, as well as airing his thoughts on what he thought about fans essentially being allowed to throw debris onto the field.

“I will say you’ve set a precedent now that you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and put athletes in harm’s way to get what you want.”

Kirby on the officiating… “I’ll say you’ve set a precedent now that you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and put athletes in danger, you get what you want.”

— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) October 20, 2024

The SEC office issued an official statement early Sunday morning on the matter.

SEC Office Statement:

“With 3:12 to play in the third quarter of the Georgia game at Texas, Texas intercepted a pass at the Texas 46-yard line and returned it to the Texas 9-yard line. Texas was flagged for interference on the defensive pass on the play that led to Georgia keeping the ball on a first down.

The game’s officials met to discuss the play, which is allowed to ensure the appropriate penalty is applied, at which point the referee reported that he made a mistake and that a call should not have been made defensive pass interference foul. Consequently, Texas received the ball at the Texas 9-yard line.

Although the assessment and the original assessment of the penalty was not executed properly, it is unacceptable that debris was thrown onto the field at any time.

The Conference Office will review the interruption of play due to the throwing of debris on the field in accordance with the SEC’s athletic policies and procedures.”

Whether or not it affects fans throwing things onto the field, which has happened at several sporting events, remains to be seen.