Auburn football: Barrett Sallee believes refs played role in win over Arkansas

Like clockwork, it appears that many are calling foul play after an Arkansas Razorbacks loss to Auburn football.

It’s the sixth straight year that the Hogs have fallen to the Tigers, who now likely take Arkansas’ spot in the AP Top 25. An LSU win over Florida only helps AU’s cause to return to the rankings after being bumped following the blowout loss to Georgia.

But anyway, back to the whining following Auburn’s big win in Fayetteville, Arkansas fans are joined by a notable college football name.

That’d be Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports:

While the Jarquez Hunter phantom fumble that wasn’t was a clearly missed call by the officiating crew, the Hogs were able to get an actual block from the refs during the fourth quarter on a play where Zakoby McClain’s path was obstructed by a zebra shirt. The Ricochet Rabbit ended up with 15 tackles and probably would have had 16 but instead the Hogs were able to pick up a first down and then some.

If anyone has a case against the refs this season, it’s Auburn football. Against Penn State, McClain was famously ejected for a targeting call that after a hit on Nittany Lions receiver Parker Washington to prevent a critical first down. Why even try, though, was the message sent that night with McClain being penalized for following the rules of football defense but being dinged by the increasingly soft targeting calls these days.

Auburn erased any doubt about this game with a critical drive in the fourth quarter that ended with a 23-yard touchdown run on third down by Bo Nix, who had his finest effort of the season with a 334-yard, three touchdown day through the air and with his feet.

Multiple score wins put the referee complaints to bed. There was a better case for Arkansas last year to complain about the results of their matchup with the Tigers.