Paul Finebaum blasts Auburn fans claiming SEC officials are against them after Oklahoma controversy

The Oklahoma Sooners were able to add a key SEC conference win over the Auburn Tigers over the weekend. That didn’t come without any controversy, though. In particular, for one touchdown the Sooners scored, which should have led to a penalty being called.

On the play, Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna pretended as though he was subbing out, but lined up on the edge of the field. It worked out that he was wide open for an easy touchdown. That should have become a 15-yard penalty for deceptively substituting. Instead, it was a touchdown in a game the Sooners won by a score.

Naturally, that’s led to plenty of frustration from fans. Some Auburn fans are even arguing that the SEC officials are purposefully against them. However, as Paul Finebaum explained on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, that isn’t the case.

“I ran into someone yesterday, an Auburn person,” Paul Finebaum said. “I’ll say no more. That’s all they were consumed with, and the answer is what are you going to do about it? I can’t do a single thing. You were closer to the action than I was, Greg [McElroy]. At least, you were calling the game.”

The SEC has openly admitted to the mistake in officiating. They would release a statement that admitted officials didn’t apply the rule. That should have ended in a 15-yard penalty and not a score, which flipped momentum and could arguably be seen as the difference in the game. Still, even with the admitted mistake, Finebaum doesn’t think there was an intentional attack on Auburn.

“The point being, none of us can do anything. Neither can Greg Sankey or anybody in that office. I will say this for the final time because I swore once I’ll never discuss officiating again. These are competent people. They have help in Birmingham. They still make mistakes. Let’s admit that. But there’s not one scintilla of evidence that supports that any of these officials go after one school over another. Is it possible that Nick Saban on the sidelines may have gotten in their heads? Yes, because of who he was,” Finebaum said.

“But, nobody since Bear Bryant and to Nick Saban would ever influence an official, and I’m not even sure that did it, except guys like that are so powerful. But, between Brent Venables and Hugh Freeze, the officials didn’t care about either one more than the other. So, move on. That’s not a popular opinion, but it’s the only practical way to deal with it, and it’s not going to solve a single thing.”

Hugh Freeze frustrated by controversial ‘deception’ play from Oklahoma offense

After the game, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze admitted to his own frustration. However, he did stop himself short of directly criticizing the officials on the play.

“I guarantee you,” Hugh Freeze said. “Well, I better be quiet. Said they didn’t hear us trying to call a timeout. We were instructed all offseason about deception plays and things. So, we’ll see what’s said. I really don’t know what’ll be said about that.”

Oklahoma, ultimately, handed Auburn its first loss of the season. Now, the Tigers need to bounce back quickly with a road trip to Texas A&M upcoming.