Tennessee football's onside kick recovery against Texas nearly led to a miraculous upset win for the Vols. But, according to the SEC, it should have never been allowed.
The league said in a statement on Sept. 28 that Tennessee's onside kick with 1:22 remaining "was incorrectly officiated and should have resulted in a five-yard penalty on Tennessee and a replay of the down."
Down 20-17 with no timeouts after a late touchdown, Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) needed an onside kick recovery to keep its upset bid alive. The Vols sent punter Jackson Ross out for the try, and instead of kicking off the ground he opted for a drop kick. The ball, spinning unpredictably, bounced off Texas receiver Ryan Wingo's hands and was recovered by Tennessee's Arion Carter.
TENNESSEE RECOVERS THE ONSIDE KICK 😱
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Tennessee ultimately couldn't take advantage and was resigned to a Hail Mary pass by quarterback Faizon Brandon that was broken up in the end zone. But that drive should've never been allowed to proceed because of two uncalled violations by Ross.
A drop kick is permissible, but has to be done from the 35-yard line. When Ross kicked the ball, he was at the 34-yard line.
The kicker is also not allowed to change their lateral position between the hash marks unless there is a stoppage in play, like a timeout. Trying to deceive Texas, Ross faked as if he was kicking to his right, taking a step in that direction, before switching to the other side.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian called for a review of the play immediately after the game.
"We need to get a ruling on how they kicked it because there’s a lot of gray area in that and obviously, one of the officials thought it was a foul and threw it." Sarkisian said. "They ended up picking it up. We’ve got to get a ruling on that because that was a bit unique, walking into a drop kick like that."
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football's successful onside kick vs Texas was illegal, SEC says
