Dooley analyzes the Georgia-LSU mess

The Georgia-LSU game was a typical SEC battle at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. Sadly, the contest was marred by two phantom celebration penalties — one which led to the go-ahead LSU touchdown. The SEC has since admitted a mistake on the call againt AJ Green after his touchdown:

The excessive celebration penalty against Georgia’s A.J. Green late in Saturday’s game with LSU should not have been called, the SEC supervisor of officials has told CBSSports.com.

Rogers Redding, the SEC supervisor of officials, said Monday that after reviewing video of the play, “I’ve concluded that it was one that we probably should have let go.”

“We tell our guys not to go looking for this stuff but if it’s right in your face, you have to call it,” Redding said. “He (the SEC official) is beating himself up pretty bad over this one.”

Former Georgia head coach Vince Dooley and former Arkansas coach Frank Broyles joined us to discuss the outcome.

What did you think of the Georgia-LSU game?

Broyles: “LSU, I thought, did a great job defensive — the fact that there wasn’t a touchdown scored until late in the game. It was an unbelievable last three minutes of the game. The celebration penalty gave LSU a chance to win and they took advantage of it and did.”

Dooley: “LSU dominated the first half and only got six points. Georgia dominated the third quarter and half of the fourth, and only got seven points. Like Frank said, the final three minutes were outstanding. AJ Green made an incredible catch for the go-ahead touchdown.”

Did the celebration penalty cost Georgia the game?

Dooley: “It’s tough to say. Even with the celebration penalty, Georgia had too many people on one side and not enough on the other on the kickoff team. And it got scrambled. After the great sprinter for LSU (Trindon Holliday) returned the ball, Georgia got penalized another five yards. Then Scott made a heck of a run. Somebody hit him one yard behind the line of scrimmage and didn’t lock him up. He bounced off and scored. And that really stunned Georgia.”

What are your thoughts on LSU after this game?

Dooley: “I think LSU is really a talented. But you scratch your head watching them. I think if they had a better quarterback, they would really be good. He does some things really well and some other things not so well. They have still been able to win despite themselves.”

Broyles: “They’ve had a hard time running the football all year long. Jefferson (the LSU quarterback) is a young man that has a lot of talent but he’s inexperienced really.”

What must Georgia change going forward?

Dooley: “Georgia’s got more problems on the offensive line than I had anticipated. They have most everybody back. They were very inexperienced last year, and I thought they’d be much better. There’s no question they don’t have the running back that can inspire an offensive line like they had last year.”

What’s your impression of the SEC so far?

Broyles: “The SEC’s got 4 undefeated teams. The western division has 3 with a 5-0 record and Mississippi with a 3-1 record. It’s really unusual because we start our conference games — for tv reasons — earlier than anybody else. We’ve already played two conference games in the first three weeks, which is really unusual.”

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