Georgia Football: 4 worst officiating calls from SEC Championship Game

4. 1st Quarter: Pass interference vs Deandre Baker

I’ll start by saying that none of the pictures I have used are the actual penalties. I guess it makes sense that game photographers don’t like to take pictures of fouls! Anyway, this was the first UGA penalty of the game and it contributed a lot to Auburn’s only score of the game.

After holding the Tigers on their first two downs, Baker did a solid job playing physical coverage against Darius Slayton. He played exactly how Kirby Smart would have wanted him to play that down. He was physical and he touched the receivers arm but he by no means hooked it.

This was very similar to the coverage that Auburn played for much of the previous game, although with less hook. I wonder if by calling this, the officials were trying to send a signal to both sides that they were going to be tougher this game.

If they did, they should have been more consistent because it didn’t stop the Auburn players. And of course, the officials seemed to miss that. The call had a direct effect on the game. It gave auburn a 1st down and kept the Tigers rolling to their first score. It was a mistake for me, although it was by far the best call of this particular bunch.