“I hate it when officiating gets in the way of the game,” Lea said. “…These guys do exactly what they're told. But I’m looking forward to the conversation about what’s important.”

Texas (7-1, 3-1) scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive after the penalty.

The official NCAA rule book states: “A player of Team A is legally on the line of scrimmage when he is facing with the line of his shoulders approximately parallel to his opponent's goal line and either (a) he is the snapper or (b) his head breaks the line.” level of the line drawn through the snapper’s waist.

Diego Pavia also criticized the call after the game.

“I feel like the referees made a mistake there,” Pavia said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to keep going.”

OVERREACTIONS Vanderbilt football is legitimate despite the loss to Texas and other overreactions

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.