Auburn AD: SEC officiating ‘went beyond’ failures of human judgement in Oklahoma loss

(Auburn Gold Mine/X, YHN)

The Auburn Tigers are preparing for a huge matchup this weekend on the road against Texas A&M, aiming to get back on track following a devastating defeat last week at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Last week, Auburn was the victim of a bad officiating error, which saw Oklahoma score their first touchdown on a deceptive play that should have been blown dead. After the game, the conference confirmed that the officials messed up and that the Tigers got the short end of the stick.

That touchdown, along with a couple of other calls, went against Auburn, and the noise from the fanbase has been loud this week. Their director of athletics weighed in with a statement of his own in which he left no doubt about how the program feels with regards to the game:

“We remain extremely disappointed because our young men prepare each week to compete at the highest level. They deserve to have the game officiated at an optimum level,” Cohen wrote. “We fully understand the human element of the officiating process. Judgment calls don’t always go your way. Saturday went beyond judgment calls. A specifically emphasized rule was not properly officiated, which impacted the game by giving our opponent the lead.”

Cohen’s statement, coming days before the next game, is a bit surprising; however, Auburn feels they were wronged, and Cohen is relentlessly defending his program. It’s not going to change anything, but perhaps the Tigers can carry that momentum into College Station and this week come away with a victory.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.