Hugh Freeze livid over controversial call against Auburn at goal line: 'I have no clue'

The final two minutes of the first half between Auburn and Georgia lasted a seeming eternity following a highly controversial fumble call at the goal line. And coach Hugh Freeze did everything in his power not to earn himself a fine during a halftime interview.

The controversy in question happened when Jackson Arnold attempted to take a quarterback sneak in for a score. He fumbled, seemingly after he had crossed the plane of the goal line.

But officials ruled it a fumble live, then upheld the ruling on a replay review. Freeze was livid.

ABC sideline reporter Molly McGrath asked the Auburn coach what the officials told him about the call on the field. Freeze was seething.

“I have no clue,” he said, trying to maintain his composure. “I think it’s … our kids have played really hard, really well. We should be up more. We dominated the first half.”

McGrath followed up by asking what he would tell his players in the locker room. That’s when Freeze began to question the officiating a bit.

“Hey, good, keep playing, man,” Freeze said. “I mean there’s more stoppages, more, I mean it’s … that may have been the longest half of football ever. I don’t know how many timeouts Georgia got with all the stoppages. Don’t have no clue how that doesn’t break the plane. No clue. We’re due a break, maybe, one of these damn times.”

Georgia would go on to take the ball from the 1-yard line all the way down the field, aided by a targeting call and a couple other penalties on Auburn. Kicker Peyton Woodring would make a 29-yard field goal before the half, essentially making it a 10-point swing on the fumble call.

Auburn, of course, has been involved in other controversial calls this year, which Freeze referenced to McGrath. The Tigers were apologized to by the SEC for a blown call in a loss to Oklahoma that resulted in the Sooners scoring an easy touchdown.

It’ll be interesting to see how well the Tigers can respond, because the momentum in the game completely flipped on the major call. Auburn leads 10-3 at the halftime break.