Its a news season and more reasons to hate refball. This time it was a cross conference battle between a Georgia Tech team that was coming off a high from their ACC season with Haynes King, and Deion’s Buffaloes who were scraping the bottom of the Big XII.
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Since it was a home game for the Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd in Atlanta, it was an ACC officiating crew who faced the brunt of the anger by the fans. The surprising thing was that both teams had questionable calls which angered each fan base. But Colorado fans took to social media to express their displeasure.
The Early Whistles
One line judge found herself in the crosshairs of angry football fans who felt her quick whistles almost cost Coach Prime the game.
In the fourth quarter around 10:26, Colorado RB Damian Henderson II took the handoff and kept pushing after contact. He had already crossed the 20-yard line and appeared to continue fighting toward the Georgia Tech 16 before the whistle came. Instead, officials ruled him down around the 21, leaving Colorado with a 2nd and 6. That immediately set off social media.
“WHY ARE THESE REFS BLOWING PLAYS DEAD?” a frustrated fan fumed. “That Colorado RB never stopped going forward, and then once there was contact the ref blew the whistle and marked him 5 yards back from where he was when tackled.”
Another commented, wanting her to stop officiating games. “That line judge is terrible. She keeps blowing the whistle before the play is over. Colorado RB was very clearly still moving forward.”
The funny part about the Henderson spot is that the early whistle actually saved Colorado from a massive disaster. The senior running back seemed to lose the football at the end of the run. Because the official had already blown the play dead, the fumble did not count. Even so, fans were blinded by anger. One viewer lashed out online, claiming that the “ref just screwed Colorado out of 5 yards.”
There was more frustration coming from viewers who had clearly run out of patience. Then came the criticism from another viewer. “These officials in this Colorado/Georgia Tech game have zero idea of when to blow the play dead,” they posted.
Georgia Tech’s Fumble Recovery Called Back
Georgia Tech wasn’t spared either. Earlier in the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets appeared to force a fumble and return it for a touchdown. But their celebration was short-lived. Officials ruled that forward progress had been stopped before the ball came loose, wiping out what looked like a huge defensive score.
One fan summed up the scene, taking aim not only at the referee but at the two teams as well: “Officiating for this CU vs GT game has been horrendous. Early whistles, pi– poor spots. Not to mention both of these teams are playing very sloppy.”
Another wrote, “The refs in the Colorado vs Ga Tech have no idea how to officiate forward progress.”
Even in the second quarter, Buffs QB Julian Lewis seemed to fumble the ball while being sacked by a Georgia Tech defensive tackle. The refs ruled it as such and then took it back.
The quarterback’s arm was seemingly moving forward. This kind of play harkened back to the famous Brady tuck rule game against the Raiders in the snow.
A Defensive Slugfest With A Two Minute Showdown
The game was mostly a grind. At a certain point, Brent Key’s Tech had only 25 yards of rushing offense to show for. This is the same team who poached Justice Haynes from Michigan.
Colorado was no better with their poor special teams play and lackluster offense killing drives. QB Lewis looked sloppy early on. He had completed just 6 passes for 41 yards in the first half and lost the football multiple times, drawing heavy criticism online. The center also snapped the ball high over the QB on multiple occasions, once even during the red zone.
During such a game, such referee calls mattered because Georgia Tech eventually took a 10-7 lead into halftime. The Buffs were not thriving. They needed their QB to rescue them late, and he did.
The final two minutes saw a lot of movement and offense that was missing from the rest of the game. Alberto Mendoza expertly moved the offense and brought his team to the red zone. Coach Sanders had to use all his timeouts to make sure his offense had any chance of a comeback.
Georgia Teck Kicker Aidan Birr drilled a short field goal to push the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 13-7, leaving Colorado with just 1 minute and 40 seconds and zero timeouts to try and save the game.
Julian Lewis shook off a rough night and went into a flawless two-minute drill. He fired a 17-yard strike to DeKalon Taylor, a 16-yard completion to Joseph Williams, and Taylor ripped off a 16-yard run to push the rock into striking distance.
With 37 seconds left, Julian Lewis found TR Charlie Williams for a 20-yard touchdown that put Colorado ahead 14-13. Georgia Tech still had a chance to steal it. The Yellow Jackets drove into position, only for Colorado’s special teams to block the potential game-winning field goal. That sealed the win for Deion and Boulder.
The officials, though, remained a separate conversation. Fans were never going to agree on every forward-progress ruling, but the repeated early whistles and disputed spots made the officiating impossible to ignore. But Colorado got the result Deion Sanders wanted.