An onside kick during last Saturday's Tennessee-Texas game that gave the Volunteers the ball with a chance to either tie or go ahead should have resulted in a penalty and retry of the kick, the SEC said on Monday.
Tennessee scored a touchdown with 1:22 left to cut the Texas lead to 3. The Vols then attempted a rare dropkick in which the kicker faked going one direction before going the other. The ball spun away from a Texas player before being recovered by Tennessee.
The Texas defense held, however, swatting down a Hail Mary into the end zone to win 20-17 and stay unbeaten. The Longhorns are 4-0 and ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian questioned the legality of the kick in his postgame news conference.
"The onside kick with 1:22 to play in the Texas at Tennessee football game on Saturday was incorrectly officiated and should have resulted in a five-yard penalty on Tennessee and a replay of the down," the SEC said in a statement. "A drop kick is permissible, but a free kick must be made from the kicking team's restraining line which is the 35-yard line on a kickoff, unless relocated by penalty.
"The ball was at least one yard behind the 35-yard line when it was kicked. In addition, after the ball is ready for play the kicker may not change his lateral position between the hash marks. That spot can change only after a charged timeout or on a subsequent kick. The kicker movement after the ready signal violated the rule. The correct enforcement is a five-yard penalty and a replay of the down."