Georgia's Parker Jones flagged for running into referee on sideline during play vs. Notre Dame

Georgia walk-on cornerback Parker Jones isn’t even dressed out for Thursday’s Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, but he still received a penalty.

Jones bumped an official who was running down the sideline after a long pass from Gunner Stockton to Arian Smith early during the second quarter. He stepped into the white area on the sideline that is reserved for officials and the official ran into him.

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The pass from Stockton to Smith went for 67 yards, and Georgia would have had the ball at the Notre Dame 11. However, instead the ball was backed up to the 26.

Georgia ended up settling for a field goal on the drive. You can watch the penalty below:

#39 on Georgia ran into the Ref on the sideline pic.twitter.com/QzaAVaTkv3

— Alex 👋 (@Dubs408) January 2, 2025

There are situations where teams get sideline warnings for interfering with officials. However, ESPN rules analyst Matt Austin explained why I penalty was thrown on Georgia on this play.

“If there’s contact, yes,” Austin said when asked if a penalty needed to be called. “Because as Greg said, it’s dangerous down there. He’s running full speed to keep up with the play, to get a good spot. And if somebody gets in his way and there’s a collision, it’s extremely dangerous. So yea, that’s a good call.”

Greg Sankey floats idea of flipping Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl after delay of Notre Dame-Georgia

The terrorist attack in New Orleans early Wednesday morning forced the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame to be pushed back from Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday and shared that it could impact next week’s College Football Playoff games, as well.

Sankey has reached out to College Football Playoff officials about the possibility of switching dates for the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl. As things stand, the Orange Bowl is scheduled to be played next Thursday night and the Cotton Bowl is slated to be played next Friday night.

The winner of Thursday’s Sugar Bowl will play Penn State in the Orange Bowl in Miami.

“Have I raised the issue of that potential change? I have,” Greg Sankey said. “I recognize that’s difficult. I don’t know if it is impossible. I raised that yesterday, and the focus quickly became today’s kickoff, today’s game and we’ll see what happens.”