It is hard to beat a quality team on the road, even harder when you have to beat the officials, too. That may be the case for No. 22 Auburn when taking on No. 11 Oklahoma in Norman. The Sooners may be led by Heisman Trophy hopeful John Mateer at quarterback, but his first touchdown pass of the day to Isaiah Sategna III was not without controversy. The officials swallowed their whistles on this play...
Apparently, Oklahoma tried to fake a substitution by having Sategna approach the sideline but never cross it. D.J. Durkin's defense thought he was off the field and did not account for him either. Instead, Mateer found his target for an easy six points. Had the officials caught this, it would have been an unsportsmanlike penalty on Oklahoma. This game could potentially come down to one possession...
Here is the play and sequence at hand that has Auburn fans furious, and Hugh Freeze losing his mind.
Oklahoma fakes a substitution, the WR stays on the field by the sideline.
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) September 20, 2025
Auburn has ZERO CLUE he’s on the field, and Oklahoma gets a wide open touchdown.
ESPN’s rule analyst said this was an illegal play 😬
pic.twitter.com/fzGCutleNB
It should be noted that Bob Stoops said over the radio that Oklahoma practiced this play this week.
According to Bob Stoops, via Teddy Lehman on the radio broadcast, the team practiced this play all week. https://t.co/MAAxFz58ha
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) September 20, 2025
Auburn needs to have a trick or two up its sleeve to counterbalance this egregious no-call by the refs.
Auburn has to beat Oklahoma and the SEC officials on the road in Norman
Auburn may have already screwed by the officials earlier on an overturned call on the field in which the Sooners clearly fumbled. It was initially a scoop and score for the Tigers, but the officials ruled the pass incomplete and therefore, not a fumble. These are two plays that could have flipped the nature of the game that went against Auburn. The Tigers are playing Oklahoma tough, but this is maddening.
Overall, Auburn may need a lucky break or two to go their way the rest of the way to stun Oklahoma in Norman. A win for either team would put the Sooners or the Tigers very much in those early College Football Playoff conversations. Oklahoma already has a signature win over Michigan, while Auburn got a great one on the road in Week 1 over Baylor in Waco. Something has to give with these officials.
Ultimately, these are the kind of shenanigans everyone should come to expect with SEC-officiated games. Why is it always the case in these mid-afternoon windows for the zebras to do what they do best and screw everything up? Although you never want to put the game into the hands of the officials, sometimes it is just not up to you. Auburn has the talent to beat Oklahoma, but these refs...
It has been a low-scoring game so far, but at least Auburn's first touchdown was totally legitimate.