Auburn-Oklahoma puts SEC refs under fire with one awful call after another hosing Tigers

If there's one job that refs in the SEC or simply in college football at large should have, it should be to call the game fairly and as down the middle as possible so that both teams on the field have as good of a chance to win as the other based on their talent, scheme, coaching, and so on. Auburn Tigers fans watching the action in Norman on Saturday as Hugh Freeze's team attempted to pull off an upset over the Sooners, however, probably didn't feel that way about the officiating at all.

Anywhere you turned, it felt like Auburn was getting the short end of the stick on calls from the SEC refs. Anything that could be construed as a 50-50 call that could go either way appeared to go the way of Oklahoma. And that only increased the fervor and anger of Tigers fans, considering that the game was being played in Norman.

Of course, any losing team is always going to have a portion of the fan base that looks at some questionable calls and blames that for the loss. In Auburn's case and in the case of their fans as well, though, there were some gripes that were well worth having.

SEC refs hose Auburn with multiple calls in loss to Oklahoma

The first call, or perhaps lack thereof, that got Auburn fans up in arms came on what sure looks like should've been a fumble for the Sooners. Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer threw to receiver Isaiah Satenga III across the middle of the field with a Tigers defensive back draped on him.

The ball hit Satenga in the hands and the tackle was immediately made as the pair rolled to the turf together. But the Oklahoma receiver then lost control of the ball and, upon review of the play, it seemed as if he made the catch, never touched the ground as he rolled on top of the defender, then fumbled. Auburn then picked it up and took it to the house.

Instead, the refs went to review and then ruled it was an incomplete pass.

It was more than just that to drive Auburn fans up a wall on Saturday, though. With the Tigers still in the game late, Jackson Arnold and Freeze concocted a beautiful double pass trick play that had Cam Coleman open down the field and seemingly in line to give Auburn the lead with a touchdown. Instead, the Sooners defensive back clearly got there early and took Coleman down.

Somehow, even though there were officials right next to the play, they didn't throw the obvious flag.

Auburn was still able to complete the drive and take the lead, but that led to another controversial call in the fourth quarter that burned the Tigers — albeit the one of these three particular calls where I might actually have to side with the officials on this one.

As Oklahoma was driving down the field subsequently to try and reclaim the lead, Mateer threw a dime to Satenga once again, this one down the right sideline. The Sooners wideout seemed to make the catch before going out of bounds, but after hitting the chalk, the Auburn defensive back sent the ball flying out of his grasp. The initial ruling was an incompletion, but the refs reviewed this play as well, and overturned the call to give OU a catch that ultimately set up the game-winning score.

While I think he actually completed the process of a catch, then lost the ball once out of bounds, where I can see the qualms that Auburn fans have is in the review process. If they need conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field, I'm not sure that anything you can see on any replay of that catch/no-catch is irrefutable.

Auburn fans revolt after officiating takes over close loss to Sooners

Naturally, the vitriol from Auburn fans, and even neutral observers as well, directed at the SEC refs was on full display after the Tigers loss, as fans took to X/Twitter to express their total discontent.

I'm not the biggest fans of blaming the refs, and there were plenty of times when Auburn could've overcome this. If the offensive line had held up against pressure from Oklahoma better, perhaps the offense wouldn't have been as stop-and-go. The defense could've been better in containing Satenga with how heavily he was used in the offense. And there's plenty more to add to that list.

Having said that, I'll give Auburn fans some credence to their complaints in this instance. The refs were questionable at best in this matchup, which is the last thing you want to be the case and the narrative coming out of a marquee game.