Most Egregious Referee Calls that Helped Texas and Crushed Missouri

The No. 7 Texas Longhorns took over the fourth quarter to take down No. 18 Missouri in a 34-20 win in Columbia in Saturday, but the game was defined by some awful officiating by the SEC crew on hand.

Both teams got hurt by poor/missed calls, and there's no denying it helped give Texas a major boost during some critical moments.

That said, it's hard for Mizzou fans to blame the officials. The refs didn't force Missouri to miss two field goals. The refs didn't hold the Tigers to zero points in the fourth quarter. And they didn't hold Mizzou to 3 of 16 on third down. Missouri won the turnover battle but lost by 14 at home.

Still, the SEC needs to punish the officials who worked Saturday's game.

Missouri Was on Wrong End of Multiple Bad/Missed Calls

Missouri Tigers quarterback Austin Simmons (13) on the field during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let's go down the list of calls that didn't go Mizzou's way.

- Arch Manning incomplete pass that was ruled a fumble, first down for Texas

- clear diving catch from Cayden Lee that was called catch on the field, overturned in replay

- unnecessary roughness that wasn't called against Texas CB Warren Roberson on third down

- Austin Simmons rushing touchdown overturned despite getting goal line extended

Every time the officials iniated a review, it went Texas' way. While the Manning fumble was somewhat of a bang-bang play, the most embarrassing call was the incomplete pass

The SEC needs to do something to address officials that fail to perform. Unfortunately, Greg Sankey is inept.

However, the Longhorns got screwed over as well, and were arguably on the wrong end of the game's most confusing ruling.

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Officials Also Cost Texas in Major Way

Despite the officiating mistakes that didn't go Missouri's way, the Longhorns were the victim of the most egregious call of the day.

At the end of the first half, Mizzou wide receiver Cayden Lee tried to fight for extra yardage but had the ball stripped by Texas safety Jelani McDonald, who did so well before the whistle was blown. He recovered the ball inbounds and it looked like the Longhorns were going to have possession at around the Missouri 20-yard line with less than a minute to play in the first half.

However, despite the play clearly being blown dead a full second after McDonald had stripped the ball out, the officials determiend it was still Missouri's ball.

Awful.

Take a look:

THE BALL WAS OUT WELL BEFORE THE WHISTLE pic.twitter.com/vy28UbZJud
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) November 7, 2026

Here are some other notable missed calls from the officials that didn't go Texas' way:

- No hold called on Colin Simmons

- No hold/pass interference on Ryan Wingo as he was trying to catch pass in end zone

- No unsportsmanlike conduct after a Mizzou defender pushed Jermaine Bishop Jr. after the play

Missouri fans have every right to be frustrated with the officials but the Tigers' fourth-quarter performance wasn't good enough to win the game.

No amount of complaining will make up Mizzou's offense having no answer against Texas' defense when it mattered most.

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