Had Kentucky’s football game against Florida not slipped out of reach in the fourth quarter, the uproar over a controversial Gators touchdown would likely still be intense. Trailing 27-20 in the third quarter, Kentucky’s defense appeared to make its third red-zone stop of the game, holding Florida to a field goal attempt by tackling running back Jadan Baugh just short of the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. However, unlike in the first half when officials quickly blew dead a fourth-down attempt by Kentucky’s Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, who was stopped at the line by Florida defenders, the officials allowed the play involving Baugh to continue long enough for the far-side official to rule that Baugh had stretched the ball over the goal line.
Replays shown on the SEC Network appeared to show Baugh stopped short of the end zone. “Oh wow, I don’t think there’s any chance he got in there,” said play-by-play announcer Dave Neal. Only the goalpost camera angle appeared to show Baugh extending the ball toward the goal line, but even that angle did not clearly indicate if his knee was down or if the ball actually reached the goal line. Most camera angles were from the opposite side of the field, where the ball became obscured after Baugh ran into the defenders. The pylon camera, stationed on the side where the initial ruling was made, also failed to provide a clear view of the ball. Given the lack of definitive evidence, officials upheld the touchdown, extending Florida’s lead to 14.
UK coach Mark Stoops had not received an explanation from the league as of Monday, although he avoided commenting on officiating decisions throughout the season to avoid fines. Stoops hinted at lingering frustration from a similar call earlier in the game when officials quickly blew dead a fourth-and-1 play for Kentucky in the second quarter, preventing a potential first down after Sumo-Karngbaye’s second effort. When asked if crowd noise interfered with his attempt to argue the call with the official, Stoops dismissed the idea, saying, “No, he heard me.”
Stoops had called a timeout after the play to give replay officials more time to examine the camera angles, but he opted not to challenge the call. “If they don’t stop it, if they don’t see anything on there, I’m not going to win the challenge anyway,” Stoops explained, noting that the replay official would have already reviewed the play.
The NCAA rules state that the instant replay process assumes the on-field ruling is correct unless there is indisputable evidence to overturn it. Replay officials can only use the broadcast video footage to make their decisions. In the Florida game, the outcome of the review was that the ruling on the field “stands” due to insufficient evidence to confirm or overturn it.
While Kentucky fans expressed outrage on social media over the upheld Florida touchdown, the replay process appeared to function as intended, with nearly half of all SEC replay reviews resulting in overturned calls this season. This sequence of calls frustrated Stoops and UK fans because one play was stopped quickly while another was allowed to continue longer, and both decisions favored Florida. Although the final score suggested the plays didn’t decide the game, it’s hard to say how momentum might have shifted if one had gone in Kentucky’s favor. Stoops remarked that any explanation from the league office might not be much consolation, hinting at other recent officiating controversies in the league.
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