Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler Facing Backlash for Texas Bottle-Throwing Incident

The officiating crew in the Texas-Georgia matchup on Saturday night may have unknowingly set a dangerous precedent.

An interception by Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron of Georgia quarterback Carson Beck late in the third quarter was initially called back because of defensive pass interference on the play.

Longhorns fans expressed their anger with the call, throwing bottles and other things onto the field in protest. As the debris was being cleared, the refs strangely changed their minds and waived the flag and awarded Barron the interception, setting UT up with the ball inside the 10-yard line.

Two plays later, the Longhorns scored and pulled to within one score, and announcers Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler seemingly glossed over the severity of what just happened.

College football analyst David Pollack was among those who pointed out the broadcast booth barely acknowledged the tantrum thrown by Texas’ fans, and several other fans echoed his sentiments while taking jabs at Herbstreit and Fowler.

“I’d argue it should have been 1st and 10. Unsportsmanlike conduct from Texas with 1000 bottles thrown on the field. How is that not a penalty? How did the announcers not say anything about that?” one fan wrote .

“Go watch the YouTube video of Tennessee fans throwing trash on the field during the Ole Miss game a few years ago. Announcers talk awful about Tennessee and its fans. But if you listen tonight to Texas throwing stuff on the field they praise them and say it’s the right call,” another remarked .

“The refs and announcers openly rooting for Texas,” one user exclaimed .

“Hey @NCAAFootball and @TexasFootball how much did that reversal cost the Texas boosters? You just taught unruly students if they throw fits and bottles they get their way. The end of trustworthy officiating. @ESPNCFB your announcers were not objective. A total failure,” proclaimed another .

“I can tell the announcers want Texas to win with all their biased comments, but this ref crew is the worst I’ve seen in a long time…these calls are getting ridiculous,” another user exclaimed .