Alabama football had a school-record 17 penalties against Tennessee, but the officiating crew for the matchup missed calls that should have gone on the Volunteers.
Coach Nick Saban was not fond of the late pass interference flag on defensive back Malachi Moore in the fourth quarter.
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The incident negated an interception from Kool-Aid McKinstry and took the momentum from the Crimson Tide. Bryce Young took several hits in the game, including one in the fourth quarter that was late. The defender for Tennessee launched with his helmet and hit Young in the chin, but the referees did not throw a flag. Many Tide fans and college football consumers thought it was targeting or at least a 15-yard late-hit penalty. Nothing got called, and Saban wanted an explanation from the officials.
Alabama’s loss came from poor execution and mental mistakes; however, there were some critical calls.
On Monday, Saban said he turned the plays that should have been called to the SEC office but ‘no’ explanation.
“I am sure the league office will look at it and decide,” he said. “There are two things that are an issue here. There is targeting, but you are also not supposed to hit the quarterback in the head. Last year against Texas A&M, Malachi [Moore] got thrown out of the game. The quarterback was out of the pocket, he jumped up to block the ball, and almost accidentally hit him in the head, but he still got ejected from the game. So, two things should be looked at.”
Saban wants consistency above anything when penalties are called.
He wants Alabama to clean up those mistakes, but Saban does not want the officiating to be one-sided.
The Tide will face Mississippi State on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
