Auburn AD Sounds Off on Officiating Following Oklahoma Loss

The Auburn Tigers athletic director put out his thoughts on the performance of the refs back on Saturday

Auburn athletic director John Cohen had his two cents on the officiating from Saturday | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

AUBURN, Ala.- After an excruciating loss to the Oklahoma Sooners last weekend, Auburn athletic director John Cohen called out SEC officiating today for what he and many college football fans consider a very poor officiating outing.

“After reflecting, I want to take a moment to address what transpired last Saturday at Oklahoma. Since the game, Auburn University President Dr. Chris Roberts and I have had extensive conversations with Southeastern Conference leadership, including (SEC) Commissioner (Greg) Sankey. 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. 

We fully understand the human element of the officiating process. Judgement 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. 

As the SEC acknowledged, the Auburn family and our student-athletes deserved better,” John Cohen wrote. 

There were a few what should have been obvious calls that were not made in Auburn’s outing against the Sooners. One in particular was when Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman was wrapped up early before the ball was able to be caught by Coleman, which should have been flagged for pass interference. 

HOW IS THIS NOT PASS INTEREFENCE?!!!! @thewarrapport #auburnfootball pic.twitter.com/pmksrGTDk8

— Mike G. (@mikegittens) September 20, 2025

The biggest play that stands out, which was game-changing, was when an Oklahoma wide receiver faked being substituted, but actually stayed on the field and was left wide open for a touchdown. An ESPN rules analyst immediately said the play should not have stood as a touchdown, but rather a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. 

Oklahoma fakes a substitution, the WR stays on the field by the sideline.

Auburn has ZERO CLUE he’s on the field, and Oklahoma gets a wide open touchdown.

ESPN’s rule analyst said this was an illegal play 😬
pic.twitter.com/fzGCutleNB

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) September 20, 2025

Another excruciating call that did not go in Auburn’s favor was a fumble scoop-and-score, which was ruled an incomplete pass after review. If it stood, Auburn would have been up a touchdown on Oklahoma’s initial drive of the game. The Sooners would later go down the field to kick a field goal, giving Oklahoma a 3-0 lead instead of Auburn being up 6-0, 7-0 if the PAT was converted.

The SEC released a statement on the officiating shortly after the game. 

Statement on @AuburnFootball/@OU_Football game: pic.twitter.com/PCn8AwLkeb

— SEC Officiating (@SECOfficiating) September 21, 2025

Regardless of the officiating woes, the Tigers still had opportunities to win the game. But it cannot be ignored that because of the officiating, the Sooners had a 14-point swing to give them the lead.