UGA weathers ‘unfortunate’ call to topple No. 1 UT
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — Georgia coach Kirby Smart had been waiting for his team to put together a complete performance.
It finally arrived in the No. 5 Bulldogs’ 30-15 upset of No. 1 Texas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
“Nobody gave us a chance,” Smart told ESPN. “Your own network doubted us, and then they tried to rob us with calls in this place. These guys are so resilient.”
Three weeks after Georgia fell behind by four touchdowns in the first half of a 41-34 loss at Alabama, the Bulldogs flipped the script and grabbed a 23-0 lead at halftime against Texas.
Georgia’s defense sacked Texas’ quarterbacks seven times and had 10 tackles for loss. The Longhorns finished with only 259 yards of offense, including 29 rushing. Texas went 2-for-14 on third down and 1-for-5 on fourth.
Georgia, playing at Texas for the first time since 1958, handed the Longhorns their first loss of the season. Texas was the last remaining unbeaten team in the SEC. According to ESPN Research, it’s the first time since 2007 that every SEC team lost before the end of October.
Georgia’s 15-point victory tied for the third-most lopsided road win against an AP No. 1 team all time and was the biggest since Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 31-16 in 1982.
In a city that prides itself on keeping things weird, a crazy sequence of events nearly helped the Longhorns get back in the game.
With Texas trailing 23-8 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck threw down the left sideline for wide receiver Arian Smith on third-and-10 from the Georgia 31. Longhorns safety Jahdae Barron stepped in front of Smith and intercepted the pass. He returned it 36 yards to the Georgia 9-yard line.
That’s when things got strange.
Initially, officials penalized Barron for pass interference, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs. Referee Matt Loeffler announced the call to the crowd and walked off the 15-yard penalty to the Georgia 44.
Texas fans booed the call while watching replays on the stadium’s jumbotron. Some fans threw debris into the north end zone, stopping play for a few minutes. While staff members and security cleaned up the bottles, officials conferred again and reversed the call.
When Loeffler told Smart about the reversal on the sideline, the Georgia coach told him, “You can’t do that! You can’t do that! … That’s bulls—!”
“Now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said. “And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
Smart said Loeffler suggested to him that the penalty was called on the wrong player — that it should have been offensive pass interference against Smith.
“It took him a long time to realize that,” Smart said.
In a statement released early Sunday morning, the SEC said officials “gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced.”
At that time, according to the league, “the calling official reported that he erred, and a foul should not have been called for defensive pass interference. Consequently, Texas was awarded the ball at the [Georgia] 9-yard line.”
“While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time,” the SEC statement said.
The league said it would review fan conduct related to its sportsmanship policies and procedures.
“I understand the frustration,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated in the moment, but all of us, the Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said officials didn’t explain to him why the call was reversed.
“I understand the frustration,” Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated in the moment, but all of us, the Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that.”
Barron told reporters that the delay in cleaning up the bottles on the field “most likely” helped in officials changing the call.
“It was crazy,” Barron said. “I thought it was a bad call, so it was good that it changed.”
Despite Smart’s protest, Texas took over at the Bulldogs’ 9. Following a first-down sack, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw a 17-yard touchdown to Jaydon Blue over the middle. The point-after kick made it 23-15. Suddenly, the Longhorns had life after doing very little in the first half.
But Georgia’s offense answered with a long touchdown drive of its own. A 43-yard pass on a flea-flicker play to tight end Oscar Delp moved the Bulldogs to the UT 25. On first-and-goal, Beck ran for 5 yards to the 1. After two straight stops, Georgia tailback Trevor Etienne ran into the end zone on fourth-and-goal, pushing its lead to 30-15 with 12:04 to play.
Etienne finished with 87 yards on 19 rushes with three touchdowns.
After trailing 23-0, Texas finally got on the scoreboard after it recovered Georgia’s onside kick attempt to start the second half. Ewers, who was benched to end the half, started the third quarter. Following a pass-interference penalty against Bulldogs safety KJ Bolden in the end zone, Ewers threw a 2-yard touchdown and the ensuing two-point pass to Isaiah Bond to cut Georgia’s lead to 23-8.
Beck threw two interceptions early-the second coming on a tipped pass to Barron at the UT 5 with 3:34 left in the period.
Georgia’s defense didn’t allow the Longhorns to get much of anything going, however, after surrendering two first two downs on Texas’ opening possession.
After Beck’s second interception, Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette blitzed from Ewers’ blind side on third-and-6 from the Texas 27. Everette’s jarring tackle caused Ewers to fumble, and Everette recovered the ball at the UT 13.
Four plays later, Etienne scored a 1-yard touchdown on a toss sweep to left for a 7-0 lead with six seconds left. Texas’ offense went three-and-out on each of its next three possessions. On third-and-7 from the UT 11, Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker dropped Ewers for a 9-yard sack.
Georgia took over at the Texas 28 and kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage with 10:46 left in the first half.
It would only get worse for the Longhorns. On the next series, Everette intercepted Ewers’ pass to Matthew Golden at the Texas 34. That set up Etienne’s 15-yard touchdown run up the middle, giving the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 8:30 to go in the half.
Georgia made it 20-0 on Peyton Woodring’s 48-yard field goal with 4:43 remaining.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian benched Ewers and replaced him with redshirt freshman Arch Manning on the next possession.
Ewers was only 6 for 12 for 17 yards with one interception in the half. He was sacked three times and lost a fumble. The Longhorns had just 15 yards on 23 plays when Manning came into the game.
Manning, the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, didn’t do much better. Texas punted on his first drive, then he was sacked by linebacker Damon Wilson and fumbled on the second. Walker recovered the ball at the Texas 30.
Woodring kicked a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half to put Georgia ahead 23-0.
Walker, a junior from Salisbury, North Carolina, had seven tackles and three sacks in the first half. He is the first player to do it in a game against a No. 1-ranked AP team in the past 20 years, according to ESPN Research.
Smart collected his 100th victory in 117 games as his alma mater’s coach, which ranks fifth-fastest to 100 wins with Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne and Chris Petersen, who did it at Boise State and Washington.
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Saturday’s schedule
Friday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Calgary Flames
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Sunday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers, 1 p.m. (TNT)
Seattle Kraken at Washington Capitals, 3:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Minnesota Wild, 3:30 p.m. (TNT)
Winnipeg Jets at Carolina Hurricanes, 5 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Rangers, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights, 8 p.m.
Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks, 9 p.m.
New York Islanders at Anaheim Ducks, 9 p.m.
Saturday’s scoreboard
Ottawa Senators 4, New York Rangers 3 (OT)
Seattle Kraken 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Boston Bruins 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 0
Florida Panthers 4, Buffalo Sabres 0
Colorado Avalanche 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 4
Calgary Flames 1, Montreal Canadiens 0
Nashville Predators 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Los Angeles Kings 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (OT)
Edmonton Oilers 5, Dallas Stars 4
New York Islanders 4, San Jose Sharks 2
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 83
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 106.3
Next game: @ BOS (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: @ UTA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: @ CAR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. DET (Monday)
Playoff chances: 85.4%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: @ OTT (Monday)
Playoff chances: 8.3%
Tragic number: 37
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: @ VAN (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 19.8%
Tragic number: 37
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 83.3
Next game: vs. FLA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 2.5%
Tragic number: 33
Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 71.4
Next game: vs. EDM (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 27
Metro Division
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 117.1
Next game: vs. SEA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 18
Points pace: 92.3
Next game: @ PHI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 86.5%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: @ NYR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 27.1%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 88.5
Next game: vs. CBJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 31.1%
Tragic number: 39
Points: 65
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 86.0
Next game: @ LA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 29.7%
Tragic number: 38
Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 79.4
Next game: vs. NJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 9.5%
Tragic number: 31
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 73.1
Next game: @ MIN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 25
Central Division
Points: 92
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 117.9
Next game: @ CAR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 109.3
Next game: @ VAN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 18
Points pace: 99.9
Next game: vs. CHI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.6%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. PIT (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 94.4%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 87.1
Next game: @ PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 37.2%
Tragic number: 34
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: vs. TOR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 26.4%
Tragic number: 35
Points: 55
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 71.6
Next game: @ SJ (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 24
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 62.8
Next game: @ COL (Monday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 16
Pacific Division
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 108.5
Next game: vs. LA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: @ BUF (Monday)
Playoff chances: 99.7%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 21
Points pace: 98.1
Next game: @ VGK (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 84.1%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 91.1
Next game: vs. VAN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 27.5%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. DAL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 30.9%
Tragic number: 40
Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. NYI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 32
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 74.3
Next game: @ WSH (Sunday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 25
Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 54.3
Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 55
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 65
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 29
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
EDMONTON, Alberta — Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz was hit by a puck shot by Edmonton Oilers center Adam Henrique and left the ice with a towel pressed against his bloody face Saturday night.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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