Hugh Freeze hammers officials for overturning Oklahoma fumble, Auburn TD

Auburn and Oklahoma enter the second quarter tied at three, setting up to be another great SEC showdown. But the Tigers feel like they should have been awarded a defensive touchdown after a fumble recovery and a journey down to the end zone. Instead, the officials reviewed and reversed the play, much to the displeasure of Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze.

ESPN’s Molly McGrath asked Freeze about the decision as the ABC broadcast came back from commercial. He hammered the officials for the overturn, believing Auburn got a touchdown to go up 6-0 early on.

“I don’t know how it’s not a fumble,” Freeze told McGrath. “I don’t know. Maybe they had a different review upstairs. Looked like he juggled at first, regained, and ran. We stripped it. Thought it should have been a touchdown.”

Oklahoma could not take too much advantage of the situation, only getting a field goal on the board. Still, a nine-point swing in a game where scores might be at a premium. The opportunity of scoring on defense may not show up again. Auburn fans likely share the same frustration as their head coach.

Thankfully, there are still three quarters left to play in Norman. If the Auburn defense can get a turnover at some point, maybe there is some balance that comes out of the moment. Until then, the play might be one Freeze circles to discuss during his postgame press conference. A big swing in momentum in favor of the Sooners.

Greg McElroy agrees with Hugh Freeze, thought play would be upheld

As the ABC broadcast showed replays for us at home, ESPN’s Greg McElroy gave his opinion on the play. While this came before the official call, he wound up not agreeing with the decision. McElroy did not think there was going to be enough for the booth of overturn the decision.

“Looked like, initially, kind of bobbled it,” McElroy said. “But as he’s bringing it down, with that left hand, it did look like he might have had just enough. And, of course, it has to be indisputable video evidence, beyond all doubt to overturn… Just based on everything, I just don’t know if there’s enough to overturn the call. It’s very, very close and catch, no catch is a tough one to diagnose but did look like he secured it, ball was coming out before on the ground. Would not be that surprised if this got upheld.”