A thrilling game between the Ole Miss Rebels and Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night took an ugly turn when Tennessee fans started throwing garbage on the field at Neyland Stadium.
Ole Miss led 31-26 with under a minute left when Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker connected with Jacob Warren on 4th-and-24. With the game on the line, Warren’t last-second reach for the first-down marker fell just short to give the football back to Ole Miss.
Replay showed the referees made the right call, but Neyland Stadium erupted into chaos. Tennessee fans begin heaving water bottles, trash and whatever they could get their hands on onto the playing field and sideline.
Click here for our latest college football rankings
As players from both programs stood on the sideline trying to avoid being hurt by flying debris, Kiffin mead with an official regarding the disruption.
When the Rebels’ head coach turned back to his sideline, a golf ball thrown from the stands hit his shoulder.
Actions from Tennessee fans continued to get worse. Ole Miss players were forced to all head to the middle of the field as students attempted to hit them with more trash. The projectiles also caused the Volunteers to send their cheerleaders and dance team into the tunnels for their safety.
The embarrassing actions from the Tennessee fans caused a significant delay, costing the Volunteers’ football team time. The Vols still had three timeouts left with 54 seconds remaining, more than enough time to force a stop and for a chance at the dramatic comeback.
Just days after the SEC fined Texas A&M $100,000 for fans rushing the field, it’s fair to see the University of Tennessee will face discipline.
Play eventually resulted with Tennessee getting the football back. But the story of the night was the shameful action of the fans in attendance at Neyland Stadium.