3 worst calls from refs in Tennessee Vols' infuriating 31-17 loss to Georgia

Unfortunately, the Tennessee Volunteers have been brought back down to earth a little bit. On Saturday night in Athens, Josh Heupel and Co. had a great chance to send a statement to the rest of the SEC/country. However, Georgia got the job done on both sides of the ball to post a 31-17 win.

We don't want to take anything away from Georgia. Kirby Smart had his players ready to rock, with Carson Beck bouncing back in a massive way after a bit of a stinker against Ole Miss last week. That's right, the Bulldogs deserved this win. However, we can't get over the fact of how poor the officiating was.

We're not fully blaming the Tennessee loss on the team in stripes, but let's be real here, they had a massive impact on this game, which should never be the case. These three calls/missed calls were downright infuriating:

3. The facemask call on Georgia WR Nitro Tuggle

This was the one that may have had the biggest impact on the game. With the score tied at 17-17, the Bulldogs were facing 2nd-and-24 in their own territory. Beck hit wideout Nitro Tuggle for a nice gain, setting up 3rd-and-9 or so for the Bulldogs. However, the officials called a facemask against the Tennessee defense. Heupel couldn't believe the call and we still can't. This was bogus and it ended up helping Georgia take a 24-17 lead. It should have never been called.

2. A missed DPI on Tennessee WR Squirrel White

In the first half, Tennessee got off to a hot start and they wanted to keep things going. However, a drive stalled when star quarterback Nico Iamaleava couldn't connect with Squirrel White on a 3rd-down play. At first, it looked like a bang-bang hit by Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks. However, take a look at the clip below. He 100 percent got there early. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit said it was a great play, but nope, it should have been a flag and automatic first down for the Vols. It wasn't.

1. A catch by TE Oscar Delp that surely wasn't

Bulldogs tight end Oscar Delp had an unreal showing, posting two touchdown grabs against the Vols defense. He'll be a local hero in Athens for the rest of the week. He finished with four receptions for 56 yards and the two scores. However, one of his grabs, a long gain, should have been reviewed and overturned.

He never had full possession before he made his way out of bounds. Despite that, nothing was checked and he had the stadium rockin' after that grab. In the end, Beck tossed for 347 yards and Smart was all smiles after the victory. For the Vols, it's back to the drawing board, as their chances of making the CFP are totally up in the air.