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Outside of a hilariously fascinating first quarter, Saturday’s SEC Championship game between No. 1 Georgia and No.14 LSU wasn’t all that compelling. The defending national champion Bulldogs took a commanding 35-7 lead into the halftime break and cruised home from there, taking the 50-30 victory.
But what was compelling was what happened during that halftime. The Dr. Pepper Challenge at halftime of the conference championship games is a highly contentious competition. Not necessarily among competitors, but among those watching.
The event pits two current college students against one another and asks them to toss footballs in a far-too-large Dr. Pepper can. What started out as a fun event was quickly ruined by competitors who realized they can hack the game by chest-passing the footballs, rather than throwing them the way a true American should.
But this year’s competition at the SEC Championship game in Atlanta had an added layer of drama.
The two competitors, Reagan Whitaker of Baylor and Kayla Gibson of the University of St. Augustine, tied with the same amount of made throws.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 3, 2022
They then went to a 15-second throw-off, where they once again tied. But rather than another 15-second tiebreaker, which would have been very simple, the $100,000 prize was awarded to Whitaker. The emcee for the event announced that she had won the tiebreaker challenge held the day prior. But they did not clarify what that tiebreaker was.
The crowd, feeling Gibson had been robbed, booed the decision. Apparently, the second tiebreaker was who scored more in their qualifying round.
so the firs tie breaker is closer and less time. The second tie breaker is whoever scored more the day before in the matchup to determine the two finalists. https://t.co/fcc0c9msfy
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) December 3, 2022
Still seems a bit ridiculous. Thankfully, Dr. Pepper did the right thing.
Dr. Pepper Bows To The Pressure Of Twitter, Proving That Bully Does Work
Keurig Dr. Pepper reported $12.68 billion in net sales in the 2021 fiscal year. Fans felt that was more than enough to justify giving both competitors the money.
Dr. Pepper has OT? Dude they should give both of these women the money for tuition. Ridiculous.
— lilly egan (@SheDoesSports) December 3, 2022
There’s tiebreakers in the Dr. Pepper challenge??? Dr. Pepper got an easy PR layup and should give both ladies the 100K.
— Eddie Maisonet, III (@edthesportsfan) December 3, 2022
Nah. This Dr Pepper Challenge on the SEC Championship…both of those ladies should have gotten the 100k since they tied twice#SECChampionship #DrPepperChallenge
— Isaiah Bragg (@4MrBragg) December 3, 2022
Apparently someone at Dr. Pepper realized the error of their ways. The CBS broadcast announced mid-way through the fourth quarter that the company will award both contestants the $100 thousand prize.
https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1599199669242195968?s=20&t=1itzS8NLEhuzyY0s2FdCoQ
As it should be.