SEC confirmed ABC rules analyst’s commentary about controversial missed penalty

During Saturday’s game between Auburn and Oklahoma, ABC rules analyst Matt Austin said that a touchdown the Sooners scored during the game should have been called back. On Saturday night, the SEC said that Austin was correct.

The controversial play occurred in the second quarter. Oklahoma’s Isaiah Sategna motioned as though he was going to the bench. Instead, Satenga stopped just short of the sideline, then ran an uncontested route for a touchdown.

Seeing the play, Austin made it clear that Oklahoma should have been penalized and the touchdown should not have counted.

“The way the receiver is walking to the sideline, his body language says, ‘I’m going off the field.’ Then he stops right by the sideline, and it’s his own sideline; that’s no coincidence,” Austin said on the broadcast. “To me, this is a hideout play, and it should be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.”

On Saturday night, the SEC Officiating X (formerly Twitter) account released a statement.

“The officiating crew did not properly interpret the action as a hideout tactic,” the statement said, in part. “If properly officiated, the second down play should have resulted in a team unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of 15 yards assessed from the previous spot. Appropriate accountability will be applied without additional comment.”

It’s worth noting that this was not the only call that Auburn disputed. The Tigers also had a scoop-and-score touchdown overturned when the pass was ruled incomplete, something coach Hugh Freeze disagreed with during an in-game interview.