Alabama coach Kalen De Boer lamented a personal foul penalty from sophomore cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. that extended a Georgia drive and secured the Bulldogs' 20-17 victory Saturday night. Lee, who was targeted frequently by the Georgia offense, shoved a receiver in the helmet after a 1-yard run that would have set up a third down. With a stop, Alabama could have gotten the ball back on a punt with a chance to tie or take the lead. Instead, the penalty on Lee gave Georgia a first down and allowed the Bulldogs to kneel with the ball on the next three plays to end the game.
"We preach emotional maturity, and I really feel strong that across the board we had that with our team and would've never expected that to happen," De Boer said. "You got to give yourself a chance."
Senior safety Keon Sabb also was asked about Lee's penalty. "He's my brother till we die," Sabb said. "So obviously, I try to uplift him. But there's a standard that we need to play with. And on that play, he wasn't up to the standard, and it will be addressed."
De Boer didn't go into detail regarding another key moment with the officiating. Before Georgia's final drive, with 3:28 left, Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell threw a pass into the end zone to wide receiver Rico Scott, who was contacted by a Bulldogs defensive back. No penalty was called after the incompletion as De Boer was seen screaming at officials in the aftermath.
"I mean, we can't put the game in that situation where the officials come into play," De Boer told reporters during the postgame news conference. "And so, we just got to control the thing we can control."
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing