A University of Georgia football player who clashed with an official on the sideline and backed his team from the red zone is feeling the heat from Dave Portnoy and Pat McAfee after a head-scratching mistake.
“You son of a bitch” President of Barstool Sports Posted X posted a video of the collision and two laughing emojis.
Portnoy's comments came after a second-quarter play that cost Georgia State significant field position in Thursday night's Allstate Sugar Bowl.
In the second quarter of a scoreless game, the Bulldogs had a 67-yard gain on a 10-yard drop by quarterback Gunner Stockton to wide receiver Arian Smith against Notre Dame's defense.
Side judge JB Garza was hugging the Georgia sideline after a play downfield when a defender dragged Stockton down.
However, Garza collided with Georgia redshirt sophomore cornerback Parker Jones, who was not suited for the game and narrowly crossed the sideline in excitement.
Garza flagged the play for interference, erasing a big gain and pushing Georgia's offense back 15 yards to the Fighting Irish's 26-yard line, leading to a Bulldog field goal kick.
Portnoy wasn't the only one who piled on the walk-on cornerback following a mistake.
and retired NFL punter and ESPN analyst Pat McAfee. Posted X said, “These are tough times to be Parker Jones on the internet.''
During the game, ESPN play-by-play commentators Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy noted how “shocking” it was for Jones to receive the penalty.
ESPN rules analyst Matt Austin also said it was “the right call” to impose a penalty “if there is contact.”
“It's dangerous out there. [The official] I'm running as fast as I can to get a good position to keep up with the play. And that's good judgment because if someone gets in his way and a collision happens, it's very dangerous,” Austin said.
Jones has come under a lot of criticism for this mistake, but Georgia head coach Kirby Smart doesn't even seem to realize at this point that the call was directed at one of his players. Ta.
“It's very disappointing. We had someone, who I said was a coach, but I think it was a player from what I heard, wearing white clothes. And white clothes are for officials only. It's a safety concern. It's a concern,” he said after the game. press conference.
“Most of the time you'd be given a warning for that, but it was a situation that cost us 15 yards. We still had a 1st-and-10 and couldn't capitalize on it. But in the end, you lose momentum, which I call an undisciplined, self-inflicted wound. So that can't happen.”
Notre Dame led Georgia 13-3 at halftime. At the start of the third quarter, the Fighting Irish scored a kick return touchdown to make it 20-3.
The Irish won the game 23-10 and will face Penn State next Thursday in the Orange Bowl.
