John Cohen doubles down on criticism of SEC officials in new statement after Auburn loss to Oklahoma

Hugh Freeze made his thoughts on last Saturday’s officiating during Auburn‘s game against Oklahoma quite clear. A few days later, Auburn athletic director John Cohen has doubled down with more criticism in a new statement released on Thursday.

“After reflecting, I want to take a moment to address what transpired last Saturday at Oklahoma,” Cohen said. “Since the game, Auburn University President Dr. Chris Roberts and I have had extensive conversations with Southeastern Conference leadership, including Commissioner Sankey.

“We remain extremely disappointed because our young men prepare each week to compete at the highest level. They deserve to have the game officiated at an optimum level.

“We fully understand the human element of the officiating process. Judgment calls don’t always go your way. Saturday went beyond judgment calls. A specifically emphasized rule was not properly officiated which impacted the game by giving our opponent the lead.

“As the SEC acknowledged, the Auburn family and our student athletes deserved better.”

The play Cohen is referencing came in the second quarter. Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer found a wide-open Isaiah Sategna in the end zone, giving the Sooners a 10-3 lead with 10:45 remaining before halftime. Sategna walked toward the sideline before lining up just in-bounds, something the SEC would later call a “hideout tactic.” Nobody on the Auburn sideline was happy at the time, while Memorial Stadium in Norman went into a frenzy.

Per the Oklahoma radio broadcast, this was something the Sooners worked on during the week. Analyst Teddy Lehman got the information from former head coach Bob Stoops before relaying the information to the masses. Whether or not offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle knew the play was illegal, they executed the whole thing perfectly for the touchdown.

As mentioned, Freeze spoke about his displeasure with the call after sending tapes to the SEC offices in Birmingham. He even had a conversation with Sankey about the moment.

“It would be nice if everybody got to get the report,” Freeze said via On3 | Rivals’ Auburn Sports and Tiger Talk. “The commissioner was really kind in his conversation with me and felt bad.”

Auburn goes into another critical SEC game on Saturday, heading to College Station to play Texas A&M. Freeze is looking to avoid a 0-2 start in conference play but faces another challenging test. He and everyone involved at Auburn definitely want to make sure the showdown is officiated at a higher level.