The Texas Longhorns lead the Georgia Bulldogs 6-3 at halftime of the 2024 SEC Championship Game.
Perhaps Texas would be up by even more if they hadn’t been called for eight penalties in the first half. Despite putting up 260 total yards to Georgia’s 54, and converting 12 first downs to Georgia’s 5, the Longhorns were unable to turn much of that offensive output into points thanks to several egregious and unforced errors.
Before heading into the locker room, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke with ABC/ESPN’s Laura Rutledge, who asked about those penalties. Their conversation didn’t last long.
Laura Rutledge: “Coach, eight penalties in this first half. How do you get your team to clean some of that up?”
Steve Sarkisian: “Well, hopefully [the refs] call [Georgia] for a holding one of these times too.”
*Interview over* pic.twitter.com/HcM6AhOPhI
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 7, 2024
“Coach, eight penalties in this first half. How do you get your team to clean some of that up?” asked Rutledge.
“Well, hopefully [the refs] call [Georgia] for a holding one of these times too,” the coach responded.
After three painful seconds of silence, the veteran sideline reporter read the room and sent the broadcast back upstairs. Sark seemed more than happy to head into the locker room where he will no doubt have a different conversation about penalties with his players.
[ABC/ESPN]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.