Urban Meyer raised concerns about whether the officials in Saturday’s SEC game between Texas and Georgia unintentionally set a dangerous precedent by rewarding bad behavior from Longhorns fans.
During Georgia’s 30-15 victory, Texas supporters at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium threw debris onto the field after a horrifically atrocious defensive pass interference call that negated a key interception.
The game was briefly halted while the field was cleared. In a surprising twist, officials huddled and reversed the original ruling without conducting a formal review.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart expressed unease over the potential consequences of such actions, fearing it might encourage similar conduct in the future.
“Now we have a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said after the game. “And that’s unfortunate.”
Meyer echoed this sentiment while discussing the incident on The Triple Option podcast.
Although the SEC fined Texas $250,000 for the crowd’s actions, Meyer emphasized that the financial penalty might not deter teams from benefiting from similar fan behavior in the future.
“You can’t do something unprecedented where people are throwing things on the field and you rally up,” Meyer said. “Because right now, if I’m at Ohio State, I make a signal to the fans. ‘Dump the field.’ We’ll take the, what is it, $250,000? Yeah, that’s half a suite at the stadium. Change the call.”
While Meyer admitted he’s “torn” about the situation because the officials ultimately made the correct call, he stressed the importance of standing by decisions, even if they’re initially wrong.
“At the end of the day, you want the right call … But I think if you make a mistake, you live with it,” Meyer added.
Texas president Jay Hartzell addressed the incident in an email to students, stating the university “will use all means available” to identify those responsible for throwing debris and revoke their access to athletic events for the remainder of the academic year.
Meyer supported the decision to remove those involved, emphasizing the need for accountability.
What are your thoughts on the bizarre sequence that unfolded in Austin last Saturday???
