After landing Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama Crimson Tide, it was time for the Tennessee Volunteers to give Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs a tough time. However, the November 16 game did not seem to be in the Vols’ favor. The Dawgs had a 24-17 lead walking into the third quarter. Not just the score, but the other factors of the game also turned out to be against them. The primary reason was the referees, who were all ready to give their everything to Smart’s Georgia. But the fans did not let the favoritism slip under the carpet, and they brought forward caustic attacks on the referees. 

Before the game started, Tennessee got some good news. Their signal-caller, Nico Iamaleava, who was injured, got medically cleared by doctors. Josh Heupel’s QB had been sidelined after suffering what was called an upper-body injury and was placed in concussion protocol. But soon their optimism had taken a nose dive during Saturday’s game. Heupel’s boys did not just play against Smart’s squad but against the officials as well. The referee, David Smith, is now under fire for his several questionable calls and missed calls. An X user shared a video clip on X, captioning it, “Refs in the Tennessee Georgia game.” The video itself had the text “I Know He Gambling 😂” superimposed on it.

Well, the footage clearly shows the referee being harassed with the question, “How much you got on that parley?” To which the referee did not reply anything and got busy in action. But his sly smile can’t be missed, which confirmed how they favored Smart’s program. In fact, during the third quarter, with Georgia QB Carson Beck’s help, the Dawgs jumped out to a 24-17 lead. But on a 2nd-and-long play, the Vols fell prey to a defensive facemask penalty that gave UGA a first down. And the fans were feeling ‘enough is enough’ as they lashed out at the referees on social media. 

Fans accuse bias against Tennessee during Kirby Smart-Huepel clash

The referee biases are something that is not new to college football fans. On September 2, just like Heupel’s Vols, Matt Rhule’s Nebraska Cornhuskers had to bear the ugly consequences. While facing off against Illinois, their WR Isaiah Neyor missed his touchdown as the referee canceled the call. However, the referee favoring Smart’s boys is even worse than that since a fan pointed out how he delayed his decision: “I’m used to one sided refs, but this is wild lmao. Phantom facemask, a Georgia receiver throws a punch, and they stop the game to review a 12 man on the field and throw a flag after the play is over lol Only during a Tennessee game.”

The decision came off as clear favoritism since Tennessee did not deserve the face mask penalty. A CFB fan even wrote, “The refs in this Tennessee/Georgia game are down bad horrendous. The worst reffing I have ever seen in my entire life.” To another fan, the penalty was given to help Smart’s QB with an easy way to score a touchdown, as they wrote, “Calling defensive holding on Tennessee when Georgia’s O-line was holding us resulting in Beck getting the TD. These Refs suck.”

“Hard to beat Georgia and the refs,” highlighted another X user since Tennessee’s opponent was not only Smart’s Dawgs but the refs as well. For another user, the referees are now accountable for their actions as they went too far with their talking (read: decision making), “the refs have had too much to say in this Tennessee/Georgia game 🧐.” Think about it—if the refs hadn’t thrown that flag, the Volunteers might’ve had Kirby Smart’s Georgia under their feet. 

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