Auburn had seemed to stop Alabama's offense twice as the Crimson Tide were driving down the field in the fourth quarter. But, as it seemed with every critical moment during the Tigers' 5-7 season, officiating came in and ruined the Tigers' momentum.
On 3rd-and-4 from Alabama's 31-yard line, Sylvester Smith made a play on Alabama's wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks. It looked to be a clean play, but a flag came in for pass interference that helped the Tide keep possession.
On 3rd-and-8 from Alabama's 28-yard line, the Tigers were certain to force a field goal attempt by Alabama, but in what will be looked at as the most crucial and pathetic call in the 90th edition of the Iron Bowl, Xavier Atkins was somehow flagged for roughing the passer on Ty Simpson.
The Crimson Tide would take the lead five plays later, and Auburn would have no response as Cam Coleman fumbled away the ball at Alabama's 20-yard line to wrap up the game.
If the calls by the SEC officials seemed familiar, it is because all season the Tigers were on the wrong side of them. In the loss to Oklahoma, two missed calls, including one that prompted an SEC officiating apology later that night, hurt Auburn. Against Georgia, it was a blown call at the goal line, and somehow Kirby Smart talked his way out of a timeout that sent Auburn to another loss.
In the biggest game of the year in the SEC, in the conference's biggest rivalry, the officials were bad again. No, they didn't cause Auburn to fall behind 17-0 in the first half after an offensive performance that reminded many of what occurred in the middle of the year. But they did cost Auburn in two critical points of the game that were formative in the final score.
Now, Auburn has some choices to make. Will it keep DJ Durkin as its interim head coach, or will they find someone outside of the box? A second straight season without a bowl game doesn't meet this program's expectations. Not even close. John Cohen and his staff have some things to work out, and hopefully, in their decision, SEC officiating won't be a problem.