Hugh Freeze shares Greg Sankey 'felt bad' about officiating issues in Auburn's loss to Oklahoma

To say Hugh Freeze was upset with the officiating in Norman on Saturday would be an understatement. Freeze says he “went over my quota” when it came to turning play into the SEC offices in Birmingham. A handful of calls seemingly went against Auburn vs. Oklahoma, a game the Tigers wound up losing by seven.

Since then, a report was sent back to Freeze and a conversation with Greg Sankey took place. According to Freeze, Sankey “felt bad” about the issues that took place at Memorial Stadium. Sankey was also “really kind” during the talk.

“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.”

Even if Freeze talked with Sankey, the frustrations are still there. Multiple pass interference shouts came from the Auburn sideline, only to mostly go uncalled. The Tigers thought they had an early defensive touchdown before the replay booth overturned the call. And then the play the SEC says the officials got wrong in a statement, an Isaiah Sategna touchdown after the Oklahoma wide receiver used a “hideout tactic” to create wide open space.

All of this comes together for Freeze to call for full-time officials. While he used the NFL as an example, they are still considered part-time at the professional level. However, until the SEC finds a way to implement them, Freeze admits he will have difficulty with the process.

“Until we get to a point where we’re like the NFL, where we have full-time officials,” Freeze said. “They make a mistake now, cost people their livelihoods and things, and they get to go back to their office the next day. I’m not saying they don’t care. There’s times where it’s very, very difficult to sit and take it.”

Auburn takes the field once again this upcoming Saturday, facing another important SEC game on the road. Texas A&M is off a bye and looking to start its own conference campaign with a win, while the Tigers need to get on the board.

Hopefully, the officials call a clean game across the board. You have to imagine Freeze does not want to spend his Sundays cutting up tape to send to Birmingham. Or have any unpleasant conversations with Sankey, no matter how nice the commissioner is in the moment.