Paul Finebaum: Officials 'stole' bowl win from SEC team

Paul Finebaum is known for his measured takes. The longtime host radio host and ESPN commentator, Finebaum has his finger on the pulse on the Southeastern Conference.

And while Alabama and Georgia are set to for a rematch in the national championship game in a week, Finebaum was asked about the ending of the Music City Bowl in his weekly appearance on the McElroy and Cubelic show.

The game between Tennessee and Purdue headed to overtime and finished with a controversial ending. Faced with a fourth-and-goal situation, the Volunteers opted to go for the touchdown, handing the ball to running back Jabari Small off the right side.

As he fought past defenders, his leg appeared to rest on top of a Purdue defender as he pushed his way beyond the goal line. The referee, however, ruled that forward progress had stopped prior to the push into the endzone.

The call soon came under harsh scrutiny and ultimately handed Tennessee a 48-45 loss. Finebaum, a Tennessee alum, called out the officiating on Monday on McElroy and Cubelic.

“I refuse to accept that Tennessee lost the game,” he said. “In my opinion, Tennessee won the game, and I’ve never said this before because I do not like to criticize officials, but I’m going to. The officials stole that game from Tennessee. Total farce.”

The loss left Tennessee with a 7-6 record on the year. After a close loss to Ole Miss earlier in the year, the Purdue loss and the costly call seemed to be a tipping point for the Volunteers. Finebaum’s reaction was similar to Tennessee fans.

Not only did the call cost the Volunteers the game, the officials also did not review their call. Former NFL referee and NBC Sports rules official Terry McAulay provided an explanation for the lack of replay review.

“The whistle is not relevant,” McAulay wrote on Twitter. “The ruling was his forward progress was stopped short of the goal line. It’s over at that point. There is nothing replay can do with it.”

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel shares officials explanation of forward progress call

Following his team’s overtime loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel shared an interesting conversation he had with officials.

The Volunteers head man said that referees told him forward progress had been stopped.

“I don’t know,” Heupel said. “Sounded like the whistle blew after he extended the football.”

Heupel was visibly agitated on the sidelines, yelling at the referees for a play he felt was stripped from Tennessee’s hands. The ball certainly looked to have extended past the goal line; however, on a play that’s stopped for forward progress, the referees are not able to go to video review. Furthermore, the time at which the whistle blew — much to the disappointment of Heupel — does not affect the call.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome,” Heupel said. “Disappointed for everyone inside of the locker room tonight. They left everything out on the field. Disappointed in the result, but man, the journey has been unbelievable. When we took over this program 11 months ago, where it was and who and where it is today are two completely different — I’m just proud of these guys. They’ve come so far.

“And a special thanks to our seniors that stayed, that fought, that competed, that bought in, that led and showed what the spirit of a Volunteer is for our young men. … So proud of them. But disappointed for them and disappointed for our fans. The passion of our fanbase is just — it’s surpassed anything in college football. They are all fire.”