CFP semifinal game proves Georgia football was cheated against Notre Dame

Georgia football was not treated fairly in their loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

91st Allstate Sugar Bowl  - Notre Dame v Georgia
91st Allstate Sugar Bowl - Notre Dame v Georgia | Chris Graythen/GettyImages

The College Football Playoff semifinal matchups are now complete, and they absolutely lived up to all the hype. This was especially true in Friday night's matchup featuring Ohio State and Texas as the Buckeyes defeated the Longhorns 28-14 after the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 14.

The play of the game was easily Ohio State defensive lineman Jack Sawyer stripping the ball on 4th & Goal with 2:30 to play in the game. Not only did Sawyer force a turnover, but he sealed the Buckeyes' win as he returned the fumble all the way for a touchdown to take a 28-14 lead.

The above play was electric. Any college football fan would tell you how awesome this play was. But did anyone notice what happened in the background on the Ohio State sideline as Sawyer returned the fumble for a touchdown?

Here's a closer look for you.

Georgia was not treated fairly in their quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame

As you can see in the above clip, essentially the entire Ohio State sideline was on the white out of bounds line, with many players and coaching staff almost on the field. And if you remember, this is the exact thing that Georgia defensive back Parker Jones was penalized for during Georgia's loss to Notre Dame in the CFP quarterfinal.

This play had a direct impact on the outcome of the Bulldogs' game against the Irish last week. Had this penalty not been called, Georgia likely would have gone on to score the first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead. But this penalty was called which snatched all the momentum from Georgia and gave it to Notre Dame as UGA ended up settling for a field goal on this drive.

While this penalty on Jones seemed like the correct call at first, it appears it maybe should have never been called in the first place. For starter, Jones' toe was barely touching the white part of the sideline and the official was weaving in and out of the sideline and field. Had the official ran straight he probably never makes contact with Jones. On top of that, Ohio State had at least 30 players and coaches much further on the field than Jones ever was and they were not penalized.

This is not an argument that the Buckeyes should have been penalized on this play. This is an argument that Georgia never should have been penalized either. And if that happened, then maybe Georgia would have beat Notre Dame and moved on in the CFP.