Ken Williamson's name will now forever be in the lore of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
On Wednesday, reports that the SEC official had been suspended permanently following a review of his calls in the Georgia-Auburn game on Oct. 11 began circulating, with Terry McAulay, a longtime official himself, confirming the report.
Williamson's role in the outcome of the matchup can't be overestimated, as Auburn seemingly took a 17-0 lead right before the half as Jackson Arnold took a quarterback sneak into the endzone for a touchdown. On review, it was ruled despite evidence showing otherwise that Arnold had lost control of the ball before crossing the goal line, and the fact that at least two Bulldog defenders were lined up offside, with the ball rewarded to the Bulldogs. Georgia would drive down the field and kick a field goal to trail just 10-3 at halftime.
When the referees walked toward the tunnel at halftime, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and athletic director John Cohen were in the officiating crew's ear, seen screaming at them over what they believed was a bad call.
It got even worse. The more egregious call came in the fourth quarter. With the Bulldogs driving, Kirby Smart came running down the sideline signaling for a timeout. The play was stopped, but Williamson and his crew listened to the Georgia coach, who argued he was simply clapping, not calling for a timeout. Again, replays showed that Smart was signaling a timeout before changing his motion to clapping.
The Bulldogs ended up winning 20-10, but Auburn fans won't forget what the officiating took away, especially three weeks after the Tigers were on the wrong end of two controversial calls in a 24-17 loss to Oklahoma. The first was a fumble recovered and returned for a touchdown by the Tigers, giving Auburn a 7-0 lead. The next, which was more blatant, had the SEC's official Twitter account releasing a statement. An Oklahoma player feigned an injury, headed toward the sideline before stopping short. He was left wide open for a touchdown pass.
That night, SEC Officiating released a statement saying it should have been a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the Sooners.