'No Way in Heck!': DeMarvion Overshown Reacts to Controversial Call in Longhorns vs. Alabama
One question rang loudly in the air following the Texas Longhorns' 20-19 loss to the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in Austin on Saturday.
What if Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers hadn't exited with injury in the first quarter? What if kicker Bert Auburn had nailed his chip-shot field goal at the end of the half?
But possibly the most significant question from Texas fans - and many college football fanatics around the country who tuned in - was centered around the controversial and crazy sequence of events that occurred at about the 10-minute mark in the third quarter with the game tied 10-10.
As the Tide and quarterback Bryce Young stood in his own end zone on 3rd and 7, Texas defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat broke through the Alabama o-line and seemed to have gotten home to Young for a sack and what looked like a safety in the end zone.
Alongside him was linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, as the two collapsed onto Young for what seemed like a surefire safety, 12-10 lead for Texas, and game-changing momentum.
But instead, roughing the pass and targeting was called on Overshown. Upon replay, the penalty was clearly called incorrectly, as the officials rightfully overturned it. But the call of no safety still stood despite a handful of angles showing Young with his shin touching the ground and the ball in his hands before he threw it away incomplete.
Overshown reacted to the wild sequence postgame.
"To be honest, I thought that it was no way in heck that he was gonna get away with this call," Overshown said. "It was a game-changer because if it would've went the other way it possibly would've been an intentional grounding and that's two points."
When the shin, or any other body part at the knee or above on the lower body hits the ground, the player in possession of the ball is to be ruled down immediately. Based on the still angle below, Young appears to be down with clear possession of the ball.
Young's get-out-of-jail throw-away fell incomplete on third down, as the Tide were forced to put anyway on a three-and-out drive that started at their own one-yard line.
The Longhorns were able to manage a field goal to take a 13-10 lead on the ensuing possession, but having those two extra points would have completely changed the trajectory of a game that ended in a one-point loss for Texas.
"That's part of the adversity we had to go through that game," Overshown said. "We responded well, ended up getting them off the field anyways. We just gotta take it to the chin and move on from it."
Overshown finished with five tackles (all solo) and was a clear leader of a Texas defense that played the best it has in over a decade.
Overshown said a loss is still a loss, but he's making sure he and the rest of the team take something from this, even if they feel the officiating could've been better.
"With calls not going our way, with them making their plays ... just seeing our guys fight the whole four quarters, I was proud of it and we just gotta carry that on the rest of the season," he said.
The Longhorns (1-1) welcome the UTSA Roadrunners (1-1) to Austin on Saturday for a 7 p.m. C.T. kickoff.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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