iStockphoto
The Southeastern Conference office apologized for a crucial missed call during a rivalry matchup that had significant impact on the final outcome.
SEC referees missed a block in the back which aided the Texas Longhorns on a long punt return. The touchdown effectively put the game out of reach for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Neither team was very strong on offense in this year’s edition of the Red River Rivalry game. Battling injury, John Mateer completed less than 53% of his passes while throwing three interceptions.
His counterpart, Arch Manning, totaled less the 175 passing yards for the third time this season.
As a result, the scoring was at a minimum. The offenses combined for one touchdown. It made a late 14-point advantage seem too tall to overcome.
SEC refs missed a call for Oklahoma.
Texas’s Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. It effectively sealed the win for the Longhorns.
Niblett appeared to have been aided by at least one illegal block on the play. The SEC confirmed that to be the case to Brent Venables.
Brent Venables said the OU staff sent the usual written objection to the SEC office about the lack of a block-in-the-back call on Texas’ 75-yard punt return and said the SEC office agreed that a penalty should have been called.
The score was 13-6 before the punt. Oklahoma might’ve been able to even the score, though that’s no guarantee given the ineptitude on offense over the course of the game.
At 20-6, though, they were forced to lean more heavily on a quarterback fresh off of hand surgery. Texas eventually won, 23-6.
SEC officials had a bad day.
This was far from the only controversial call of the weekend. Auburn might have the biggest gripe of all.
The Tigers were on the losing end of two major calls. Each could’ve easily gone the home team’s way. Both benefitted rival Georgia instead.
First was a redzone play in which Jackson Arnold attempted to dive into the endzone for a score to push Auburn’s lead to 17-0. He was met at the goal line and lost the ball. It was ruled a fumble, which the Bulldogs recovered.
A review was upheld. Even the broadcast crew couldn’t be convinced Arnold did not cross the plane before the ball was jarred loose. The fumble resulted in a 10-point swing as Georgia would subsequently drive the field to kick a field goal.
Later in the contest, Kirby Smart convinced officials to retract a timeout which was used to save the Bulldogs from a penalty on third-and-long. That decision came in a 13-10 game in the fourth quarter. Auburn eventually lost, 20-10.
Hugh Freeze says he was “on the phone quite a bit” this weekend, having conversations with Greg Sankey and the SEC director of officials. “I expressed how I felt and they listened.” “It’s hurting our football team and it’s hurt, in my opinion, our record.”
South Carolina and Missouri were each on the losing ends of seemingly successful fake punts that occurred during the second half of one-score games. Both ultimately resulted in lost possessions.
For the second straight season against LSU, Shane Beamer asks SEC officials what happened after an illegal procedure flag negates a first down on South Carolina’s fake punt … pic.twitter.com/aAg4rGEWYy
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) October 12, 2025
Coaches were not happy with officiating over the weekend. The SEC has not publicly addressed the controversies, though they have likely reached out to coaches directly.
For some, like Oklahoma, an apology will have to do. Unfortunately, it won’t give the losing teams a do-over.