Joel Klatt thinks Alabama had enough to beat Georgia - and enough reason to feel robbed.
On the latest edition of his “Joel Klatt Show” podcast, the FOX Sports lead college football analyst said Georgia has a habit of getting favorable calls in the biggest spots and argued that the late missed pass interference on KJ Bolden changed the game.
“Georgia fans are going to be irate at this … comment, but all of us who are not dyed-in-the-wool Dawg fans, Georgia gets an incredible whistle,” Klatt said. “In some of the biggest moments and most crucial moments of tight ball games, man, Georgia gets an incredible whistle.”
The sequence he zeroed in on came in the fourth quarter, with Alabama trailing 20-17 and trying to either tie the game or move ahead from the Georgia 34. On the play in question, Bolden ran into Rico Scott in the end zone, but there was no pass interference call. Bolden later said on Monday that he would expect a PI if the same thing happened to Georgia.
That missed call was followed by a sack of Keelon Russell on the next snap, and Alabama had to punt. It never got the ball back.
“Can you make a strong argument that the officials cost Alabama the game? Absolutely,” Klatt said.
“It is as clear a pass interference as I can remember seeing. How is that not called?”
Even with the loss, Klatt still sees Alabama as a team capable of reaching the top of the sport. He said the two teams that played in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night might also be the two best in college football right now, and he thinks the Crimson Tide can still finish with the national title.
“Can you make a strong case that the two teams we saw play in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night are the two best teams that we’ve seen in college football? I think you can make a strong case for that,” he said. “Bama can absolutely win the national championship.”
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The aftermath of Alabamas game with Georgia has turned less on the final outcome than on the officiating decisions that left plenty of Crimson Tide fans frustrated. Several calls were disputed during the game, including a no-call on a potential pass interference, and the conversation spilled into the public view as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed how the league handles those kinds of controversies.
Sankey said the conference does not comment on judgment calls made by officials, while also stressing that officiating is difficult and that the SEC will review errors involving rule application. For Alabama fans still looking for clarity, though, that distinction is unlikely to calm much of the noise around a game that already had enough contentious moments to linger well beyond the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
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What stood out for Alabama was how quickly the new setting took on the feel of a major moment. Davis made clear he had been concerned the crowd might not come through after the relocation, but the fans answered anyway, giving Coleman Coliseum an electric atmosphere that kept the show buzzing and gave the Tide another reminder of how quickly Tuscaloosa can flip a backup plan into home-field theater. [Read more 🡒]