Georgia led wire to wire.
It led by double digits at top-ranked and previously unbeaten Texas for some 36 minutes of game clock Saturday night inside DKR Texas Memorial Stadium.
The Bulldogs limited their hosts to a scant 259 yards, pried away four turnovers and suffocated the Longhorns on money downs -- a combined 3-for-19 on third- and fourth-down attempts.
But a week after shoving his way -- quite literally -- into the national conversation for sideline behavior after his sideline-shove of Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., Georgia coach Kirby Smart absolutely eviscerated both the SEC officiating crew as well as the network -- ABC/ESPN -- which handled broadcasting privileges for the clash.
"These players get the best out of me, and I'm so proud of these guys. Because nobody believed, nobody gave us a chance," Smart said to ABC/ESPN on the field postgame. "Your whole (ESPN) network doubted us. Nobody believed in us."
Smart, however, was just getting started with his scored-earth comments on the Longhorns' synthetic surface.
Specifically, Smart remained irate at a second-half call that ever-so-briefly called in to doubt the outcome of this contest. Jahdae Barron intercepted Georgia quarterback Carson Beck's pass and raced down the sideline inside the 10-yard line.
Initially, SEC officials ruled it defensive pass interference and Georgia was set to retain possession with a first down. The sold-out crowd, most of them Texas fans but enough Bulldogs faithful to be heard, both voiced and tossed their displeasure.
Beer bottles among other items littered the field. Officials conferred. Texas was awarded the pick, scored two plays later and the game was briefly a one-score affair, 23-15 Georgia.
Smart seethed along the sideline; he could be seen calling the decision "bullsh**" and informing the officiating crew that "you can't do that!"
He wasn't done with a postgame, on-field microphone in his face to amplify his thoughts.
"And then they tried to rob us with calls in this place," Smart fumed. "And these guys are so resilient. We talked about intent. What was our intent when we walked on the field. Our intent was not to take pictures. Not to do all the superstar stuff. Our intent was to eat. Our intent was to come eat. Be hungry.
"I'm not interested in all the bells and whistles. What I want is a team that fights their ass off. They did tonight."
Smart offered a bit more context postgame -- under the guise of not criticizing officials.
"They said they called it on the wrong guy, which it took them a long time to realize that," Smart told reporters.
"It's one of those things I don't know what I'm allowed to say or not say. So, I won't comment. I want to respect the wishes of the SEC office.
"I will say that now you set 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. And that's unfortunate, because to me that's dangerous. That's not what we want. That's not criticizing the officials; that's what happened."
Georgia’s Kirby Smart on the controversial PI call. He did not like that they’ve set a precedent that you can throw things on the field and endanger student athletes. pic.twitter.com/7qNrfnsuiR
— Baillie Burmaster (@baillie_burm) October 20, 2024
Early Sunday morning, the SEC office issued a statement on the controversy — well, on the penalty and disruption of play, which it emphasized will be subjected to review as it pertained to the league’s sportsmanship policies. Though the SEC declined to indicate if Smart’s comments also might be subjected to those same parameters.
Read the SEC’s full statement below: