Paul Finebaum reacts to SEC's blown call on Oklahoma touchdown vs. Auburn

All eyes were on the Auburn Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners in Norman on Saturday. That meant that everyone saw the SEC officials in that game struggle throughout. Included in that was a poorly officiated play where Oklahoma scored on a trick play, which should have been illegal, that led to the SEC sharing a statement on the incident.

In the wake of that mistake, Paul Finebaum appeared on The Matt Barrie Show. There, he shared that he appreciates getting transparency from officials, but that doesn’t change the fact that Auburn dropped the game. Now, the teams and SEC race must move on from there.

“I was out there,” Paul Finebaum said. “One thing I like about transparency is that it shows that you know what the rules are and you’re not trying to obfuscate. That’s what I like about it. That bad part is Auburn fans are beside themselves, and how else should they be?”

On the play in question, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna acted as if he were subbing out of the game. However, he stopped before getting there and lined up deceptively. Oklahoma quickly snapped the ball with Sategna uncovered and had him uncovered for a touchdown. Using a substitution deceptively, however, is against the rules and should have resulted in a penalty.

“It takes a little bit away from some of the ineptitude of the decision-making, and also just an absolutely miserable offensive performance,” Finebaum said. “But unfortunately, and I know I’m bouncing around here, we have to live with this. We can spend the rest of our lives analyzing officiating, but is that what we really want to do?”

That wasn’t the only debatable call. In a game where Oklahoma beat Auburn 24-17. Taking that touchdown off the board, and potentially another, according to Matt Barrie, and the Sooners wouldn’t have won the game in regulation. However, Paul Finebaum made it clear none of those officiating mistakes matter in how these teams are viewed in the grand scheme of the season.

“It was bad enough, if you’re an Auburn fan, that you had a bad beat in the final minute of the game. You’re gonna lose the game but you were gonna win the bet, which isn’t the perfect ending,” Finebaum said. “But at least it’s a better ending. Now, everything goes away. It could not have been a worse weekend. I’m in Birmingham today, reading some of the reaction from the media, and they’re piling on Hugh Freeze, which is understandable. In the moment, it feels outrageous, but a week from now it won’t make any difference. It’s really, and I’m not defending the SEC, officiating is terrible everywhere. The only thing I like about the ACC is we hear it in real time.”

SEC officiating releases statement on Isaiah Sategna TD controversy, admits incorrect call

In the statement that the SEC put out regarding the controversial trick play for a touchdown, the conference admitted to getting the call wrong. The SEC cited the rule that wasn’t followed and added that it should have been a 15-yard penalty.

“In Saturday’s Auburn at Oklahoma football game with 10:50 remaining in the 2nd quarter, a pass was thrown to Oklahoma #5 resulting in a touchdown. Oklahoma #5 participated in the previous play, which was a first down play from the 22-yard line. After the first down play was completed, Oklahoma #5 continued towards his team’s sideline but stopped just before reaching the Oklahoma sideline,” the statement read.

“NCAA football rule 9-2, Article 2 is labeled ‘unfair tactics’ with Paragraph (B) stating, ‘No simulated replacements or substitutions may be used to confuse opponents. No tactic associated with substitutes or the substitution process may be used to confuse opponents. This includes any hideout tactic with or without a substitution.’ The officiating crew did not properly interpret the action as a hideout tactic. If properly officiated, the second play should have resulted in a team unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of 15 yards assessed from the previous spot. Appropriate accountability will be applied without additional comment.”

Auburn will look to bounce back from the loss next week with a tough road game against Texas A&M. Oklahoma, meanwhile, has a bye week before hosting Kent State.