Georgia safety KJ Bolden didn’t exactly argue his own innocence when asked about the controversial no-call that helped swing Saturday’s game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
On the pass into the end zone intended for Alabama’s Rico Scott, SEC officials didn’t throw a flag for defensive pass interference. Bolden was later asked whether the contact should have been penalized, and his answer was blunt.
“I’m not going to lie, if that was to happen to them and they did that to us, I would want them to call pass interference for sure,” Bolden told WSBTV. “Definitely for sure.”
Bolden also walked through what he saw on the play. He said Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell was keying on Scott, and he didn’t like the way his cornerback was positioned. That’s when he decided to jump in and try to make a play.
“As long as he don’t catch the touchdown I’m like, we’ve just got to get this ball down,” Bolden said. “I feel like I got there close.
I feel like it could go any way. I get to looking around, it’s a lot of refs on the field.
None of the refs threw a flag. That’s not PI to me.”
Georgia got the outcome it needed on the very next snap, sacking Russell and knocking Alabama out of field-goal range. The Crimson Tide punted after that and never touched the ball again, falling 20-17.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer made it clear he wasn’t happy with how the play was handled.
“We can’t put the game in that situation where the officials come into play,” DeBoer said postgame. “And so, we just got to control the things we can control.”
When asked whether he got an explanation, DeBoer kept it simple.
“I mean, they just didn’t feel, I guess, it was pass interference,” DeBoer said. “So, no, that’s all you’re going to get.”
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