The SEC announced a $250K penalty following the No. 5 Bulldogs' 30-15 win over the No. 1 'Horns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium ... after an incident that was sparked by a controversial pass interference call.

The play in question centered around Texas safety Jahdae Barron, who intercepted a pass that was meant for Georgia receiver Arian Smith.

After the P.I. call was announced, trash started pouring from the student section ... and it got so bad, the game was delayed. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was furious as it all unfolded ... shouting at all the chaos to stop.

The P.I. call was overturned shortly after ... so in reality, the stunt kinda worked in a way.

Regardless of the outcome in the game, the SEC reviewed the matter ... and determined the school needed to face consequences.

"The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that took place Saturday night cannot be part of any SEC event," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said.

"The SEC is assigned responsibility by its membership to enforce its sportsmanship and game management policies and these actions are consistent with that oversight responsibility, including the financial penalty and mandated reviews."

The University of Texas apologized to Georgia for the incident, saying it does not condone such unsportsmanlike behavior.