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Auburn main football coach Hugh Freeze was not happy with the official in his team’s loss to Oklahoma on Sunday, and SEC admitted that a crucial touchdown should not have spoken.
The Soners won 24-17 over the Tigers, partly thanks to trickery on a Jesaja Sategna III Vide-Open Touchdown. The conference later issued the play illegally and said it should have been called for unsportsmanlike behavior.
The play in the second quarter seemed to show that Sategna was running towards the sidelines for a substitution, but he stopped near the border. Auburn’s defense thought he was out of the game until the ball was snapped and immediately thrown to him for a slight touchdown.
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Auburn Tiger’s main coach Hugh Freeze is talking to a game official during the third quarter against South Alabama Jaguars at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 13, 2025. (John Reed/Imag- Pictures)
During his postgame interview, Freeze acknowledged that he had to “better be quiet” or risk a fierce fine for criticizing officials. But ESPN Rules analyst Matt Austin called the play illegally after reviewing it on the broadcast and Freeze agreed after the game.
Freeze told journalists that he had warned his staff “All Offseason” that such plays were considered illegal and not to be run. However, Oklahoma -offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle described it as a “tempo game” rather than a deception in which he claimed that Sategna checked in with an official before snap.
LSU, Florida Players SteamRoll -trainer Brian Kelly on the sidelines
SEC sits with Auburn in his decision and quoted “NCAA FOOTBALL RULE 9-2, Article 2,” marked “unreasonable tactics.”
“No simulated replacements or substitutions can be used to confuse opponents. No tactics associated with substitutes or the substitution process can be used to confuse opponents. This includes any concealment with or without substitution,” Sec said in a statement.
Oklahoma Soner’s wide receives Isaiah Sategna III (5) catches a touchdown -Pas during a college -football match between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Auburn Tigers in Gaylord Family ð Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. On September 20, 2025. (IMagn)
“The official crew did not properly interpret the action as a hidden tactic. If it became properly official, the second-down acting should have resulted in a team that is no chairman of the 15-meter behavior assessed from the previous place.”
Freeze was also frustrated with another spectacle involving Sategna. Auburn Cornerback Kayin Lee looked to pick up a fumble and return it to a touchdown. Auburn thought Sategna had caught the passport before losing control, but after reviewing, officials gave it incomplete.
“I don’t know how it’s not a fumble,” Freeze said. “I don’t know. Maybe they had another review up. Looking like he was juggling first, recovering and running. We stripped it. Thought it should have been a touchdown.”
Auburn Tiger’s main coach Hugh Freeze is talking to a game official during the third quarter against South Alabama Jaguars at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 13, 2025. (John Reed/Imag- Pictures)
Unfortunately for Tigers, both calls went against them and losing at just a touchdown got the result even more.
