AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Georgia coach Kirby Smart was initially careful with his words when asked about Texas fans littering the north end of the field with water bottles and other trash after an interception for the top-ranked Longhorns initially by a player The pass interference penalty was wiped out before the officials changed their decision.

“I'm not going to comment because I want to respect the wishes of the SEC office,” Smart initially said when asked about the disruption during the fifth ranking The Bulldogs' 30:15 victory Saturday evening. “But I have to say, now we have a precedent: If you throw a lot of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, you have a chance of having your call overturned.”

The Southeastern Conference released a statement early Sunday morning saying the officials made the right decision because there was no penalty with 3:12 left in the third quarter. Before the pick, there was contact between cornerback Jahdae Barron and receiver Arian Smith.

“The match officials gathered to discuss the play allowed to ensure the correct penalty was enforced. At that point, the referee called reported that he had made an error and a foul for defensive pass interference should not have been called,” the statement said.

However, the league said the disruption caused by the debris on the field would be reviewed in light of SEC athletic policies and procedures.

“Although the original assessment and adjudication of the penalty was not properly conducted, it is unacceptable for debris to be thrown onto the field at any time,” the league said.

Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian was angry at the officials for the call, which appeared to have negated Barron's 36-yard interception return to the Georgia 9. The coach then walked to the back corner of the field and signaled the student section to calm down and stop throwing things.

“I understand the frustration,” Sarkisian said. “We were all frustrated at the moment. But you know… I know we can do better across the Longhorn Nation.”

While the debris was removed, officials discussed the game and picked up the flag

Smart then protested to referee Matt Loeffler, who, according to the coach, told him that the first penalty had been given to the wrong person.

“It took him a long time to realize that,” said Smart, who was then asked who the right guy was. “I guess the offensive type. You know, 11 (Smith) and 7 (Barron), two different numbers. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced that in my entire coaching career.”

Sarkisian said officers never told him why the call was changed.

Two plays after the break, Quinn Ewers threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jaydon Blue to put the Longhorns up 23-15 after trailing 23-0 at halftime.

“We managed to stop it, deal with it and then regroup,” Sarkisian said of the disruption. “Then they overturned that decision and gave us an opportunity to take a short field, put one in and make it a one-score game.”

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