ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he has not talked to the SEC office about his timeout call — or non-call — in Saturday’s game against Auburn and maintained that he did not call one.

Early in the fourth quarter, officials at first granted Smart a timeout as the play clock wound down before a third-down Georgia play. When Smart immediately protested that he had been clapping, not signaling a timeout, they reversed the call.

“I talked to no one at the SEC, office-wise, and I stand by what I talked about after the game,” Smart said Monday. “I’m worried about Ole Miss.”

The Bulldogs will host Ole Miss on Saturday.

In Saturday’s postgame news conference, Smart denied calling a timeout, stating that he was signaling to the side judge that Auburn’s safety was clapping, which would be a penalty for simulating the snap. Replays showed that the Auburn player clapped, and Smart reacted to that.

Replays also revealed Smart making the timeout signal, even as he appears to be saying, “They’re clapping.”

“I ran over to him and said, ‘They’re clapping. They’re clapping.’ And he thought I called a timeout,” Smart said Saturday night. “And so I wanted to make sure he understood. No lip-reading. I’m screaming, ‘They’re clapping. They’re clapping.’ I didn’t need a timeout because we were going to get it off before the shot clock.”

Better view here, Auburn deep safety starts clapping pre-snap and immediately see Kirby Smart going towards the officials.. ⁦@DawgsHQpic.twitter.com/j0U0Ylwsbs

— Rusty Mansell (@RustyMansell_) October 12, 2025

The play didn’t end up mattering: Georgia was called for a blindside block, pushing the ball back to the Auburn 38, and after getting some yards back on third down, Peyton Woodring missed a 45-yard field goal. The Bulldogs didn’t end up using all their timeouts.

The officials’ waving off the timeout after initially granting it became symbolic of a game in which Auburn fans, the ABC broadcast crew and others felt the officiating was one-sided.

The key play was disputed: a jump at the goal line by Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold, which, if it had been a touchdown, would have put the Tigers up 17-0 (assuming the extra point) with 1:32 left in the first half. But in the confusion over the play, out of the tush-push formation, the officials made no call, and Georgia’s Kyron Jones emerged with the ball and ran downfield.

The referee whistled the play dead as Jones passed midfield, then officials huddled and ruled it a fumble and Georgia’s ball at its own 1-yard line. After a review that took several minutes and a total game stoppage of about six minutes, officials upheld the ruling.

As the crowd protested, Georgia moved downfield with the help of three Auburn penalties, including 15-yard penalties for targeting and roughing the passer. After the Bulldogs kicked a field goal to end the half, Auburn athletic director John Cohen had words with referee Ken Williamson going off the field.

Georgia came back to win 20-10, with Auburn fans displeased as the crew left the field.

The SEC has not released a statement about officiating in the game and has no plans to do so, a spokesperson said Monday morning. The conference released a statement after Auburn’s loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 20, acknowledging that officials erred in letting a Sooners touchdown stand when Oklahoma violated the illegal substitution rule.

In the case of the Georgia game, the conference evidently did not feel it was warranted.

The crew who worked the game is an experienced one. Williamson worked the 2021 SEC championship, and umpire Walt Hill worked the 2022 SEC championship.