Georgia safety KJ Bolden has said he would want a pass interference call if the situation were reversed, after a contentious no-call late in the Bulldogs’ 20-17 win over Alabama. With 3:20 left in the fourth quarter, Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell launched a deep pass to Rico Scott. Bolden intervened, hitting Scott before the receiver could contest the ball, but no penalty flag was thrown.
Scott had beaten Georgia cornerback Braylon Conley in man coverage, but Bolden arrived with safety help to disrupt the play. Despite the contact, the officials declined to call pass interference. Alabama’s subsequent drive ended without points, allowing Georgia to run out the clock and secure the victory.
In an interview with Atlanta’s WSB, Bolden acknowledged the complexity of the call. “I’m not going to lie, if that were to happen to them, and they were to do that to us, I would want them to call pass interference, for sure,” he said.
He described his intent as trying to prevent a touchdown at a critical moment. “I feel like I got there close, but I felt like it could go either way,” Bolden added. “I get to looking around (and) there’s a lot of refs on the field. If none of the refs threw a flag, then it’s not a flag to me.”
Georgia’s win was the first regular-season victory over Alabama under coach Kirby Smart, who had previously lost twice to Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer in regular-season clashes. The Bulldogs have now won their last two meetings against the Crimson Tide, including last season’s SEC championship game.
Had officials flagged Bolden for pass interference, Alabama would have moved into field-goal range, giving them a chance to tie the game. A touchdown on that play would have given Alabama a 24-20 lead and put pressure on Georgia to respond on the final drive.
After the game, DeBoer addressed the controversy by focusing on what his team could control. “We can’t put the game in that situation where the officials come into play,” he said. “We just got to control the things we can control.”
Both teams appeared to be among the best in the SEC this season, setting up the possibility of a rematch later in the year, perhaps again in the SEC championship game. Alabama may look to avenge this defeat and the no-call that could have changed the outcome.
According to Yahoo Sports.
