The SEC Officiating Office admitted to a costly mistake in a tightly contested contest that led to an Oklahoma touchdown over Auburn in a 24-17 Tigers' loss.
It was 3-3 in the second quarter when the Tigers courted disaster. A botched punt attempt gave the Sooners the ball on the Auburn 12. However, a penalty on the Sooners followed by a stuffed run for minus two yards, and it looked like the Tigers were in good shape to hold Oklahoma to a field goal try - a win after the turnover on downs.
Oklahoma faked a substitution of a wide receiver, who stood near the sideline but never left. He was uncovered for a 22-yard touchdown. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said after the game that he tried to call a timeout that wasn't allowed.After the game, the SEC Officiating issued a statement that the play should have been flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty for attempting to deceive an opponent with a substitution."After the first down play, Oklahoma #5 continued towards his team's sideline but stopped just before reaching the Oklahoma sideline. "NCAA Football Rule 9-2, Article 2 is labeled "Unfair Tactics" with Paragraph stating: 'No simulated replacements or substitutions may be used to confuse opponents. No tactic associated with substitutes or the substitution process may be used to confuse opponents. This includes any hideout tactic with or without a substitution.' "The officiating crew did not properly interpret the action as a hideout tactic. If properly officiated, the second down play should have resulted in a team unsportsmanlike penalty of 15 yards assessed from the previous spot.The Tigers recovered valiantly to tie the score at 10 going into the half. Their inability to reliably execute a dropback passing game, leading to a Sooners' record 10 sacks, would ultimately doom them. But the SEC's admission of blowing a crucial call will do little to ease the anger of the Auburn Family, since "appropriate accountability" never includes changing an influenced result. The Tigers dropped to 3-1 on the season and will need to put the Oklahoma game behind them. They face another stern test in a
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