Ball Don’t Lie: 3 worst calls that cost Georgia the SEC championship

2. The horse-collar tackle penalty

The second-worst call of the SEC Championship Game was a horse-collar tackle penalty on Xavian Sorey.

The horse-collar tackle is outlawed because it's a matter of player safety. Players can't grab inside an opposing player's shoulder pads or collar and pull them back to the ground. But that wasn't what Sorey did when he took down Kendrick Law at the line of scrimmage. He grabbed the top of Law's shoulder pads and effectively pulled him over to the side.

The penalty gave Alabama a free 15 yards, taking them across midfield to the Georgia 39.

Even though the Crimson Tide sputtered after that, the penalty still played a role in the outcome of the game.

Alabama punted from Georgia territory and pinned the Bulldogs at the six-yard line. If they had punted from further back, UGA wouldn't have been operating from the shadow of their own endzone. The drive might have looked totally different. Instead, a botched exchange handed the ball back to Alabama near the goal line, giving them a chip shot field goal.

In a game decided by a field goal, all the inches matter. There are 540 inches in a 15-yard penalty.