TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer lamented a personal foul penalty from sophomore cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. that extended a Georgia drive and secured the Bulldogs' 20-17 victory Saturday night.
Lee, who was targeted frequently by the Georgia offense, shoved a receiver in the helmet after a 1-yard run that would have set up a third down. With a stop, Alabama could have gotten the ball back on a punt with a chance to tie or take the lead. Instead, the penalty on Lee gave Georgia a first down and allowed the Bulldogs to kneel with the ball on the next three plays to end the game.
"We preach emotional maturity, and I really feel strong that across the board we had that with our team and would've never expected that to happen," DeBoer said. "You got to give yourself a chance.
"You're out there giving everything you got. You just got to give yourself a chance. And so, emotional maturity is what it comes down to. And we've been pretty good at that going on the last two years. Obviously, the moment comes up like we had just now, we didn't respond the right way."
Senior safety Keon Sabb also was asked about Lee's penalty.
"He's my brother till we die," Sabb said. "So obviously, I try to uplift him. But there's a standard that we need to play with. And on that play, he wasn't up to the standard, and it will be addressed."
DeBoer didn't go into detail regarding another key moment with the officiating. Before Georgia's final drive, with 3:28 left, Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell threw a pass into the end zone to wide receiver Rico Scott, who was contacted by a Bulldogs defensive back. No penalty was called after the incompletion as DeBoer was seen screaming at officials in the aftermath.
"I mean, we can't put the game in that situation where the officials come into play," DeBoer told reporters during the postgame news conference. "And so, we just got to control the thing we can control."
DeBoer said he didn't get an explanation from the referees about why there was no call, saying only that they didn't believe it warranted a pass interference penalty.
"That's all you're going to get," he said.
Alabama had other opportunities to win. The Crimson Tide turned the ball over once and allowed six tackles for loss. The defense gave up 206 yards rushing and allowed Georgia to go 7-of-13 on third-down attempts. Russell's 185 yards passing were his fewest in a game this season.
"For us, it's got to be, 'Get back to work,'" DeBoer said. "The season doesn't slow up for us. You find out the character of our football team. I believe I know what that looks like, but that will be certainly what we need to have happened in our response coming next week."
"My feeling is that we'll get back to work," he added. "That's what was said down there [in the locker room], and that's what was talked about so they can make sure they don't have the feelings that they have down in the locker room right now."
Alabama goes on the road to No. 15 Tennessee next Saturday.
