Rece Davis blasts officials for missing calls in Auburn vs. Oklahoma game

The SEC had to apologize for a blown call in the Auburn–Oklahoma game, but some in the sport aren’t quite ready to move on. Not without further accountability for those involved.

ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis chimed in on his podcast about the missed calls in the Auburn-Oklahoma game. He was hot.

“There is something that I hate that I hear people say, and I’ve probably been guilty of saying it too about officials: ‘Well officiating is a hard job,'” Davis said on the College GameDay Podcast. “You know what? Everybody’s got a hard job. Coaches have a hard job, players have a hard job, broadcasters have a hard job.

“If you choose to be an official, to quote Bill Belichick: ‘Do your job.’ And that has happened with some alarming infrequency in my judgment. Most notably it happened on several plays in this game.”

The most scrutinized play in the game was a non-call on a play in which Oklahoma receiver Isaiah Sategna appeared to try to fake out the defense on a substitution. He ran toward the sideline but slowed before he got there.

Then, when Oklahoma snapped the ball, he was completely uncovered. The Sooners hit him for an easy touchdown pass.

One problem: There should have been a flag thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was a huge turning point in the game.

“The missed hideout play, it’s one of those things that I think sort of should be on the defense, it probably shouldn’t be against the rules,” Davis said. “But it is, and if it’s against the rules, call it. Because that’s what they did. They feigned a substitution. I know he didn’t leave the field. everybody including the SEC said that’s a penalty. Don’t miss that. Don’t miss that.”

Davis pointed to another incident in the Auburn-Oklahoma game as an example of poor officiating. It was another controversial call.

“And the other thing, the Auburn scoop-and-score that would have put them up 7-0 … if that’s not a catch and a fumble, and if that is the correct call by the book, change the book,” Davis said. “Because that’s a stupid rule. Because he caught it, he had it in his hands, he took steps, he was going to move it from his hands up, not controlling it, already had the control. Tackled, fumble, scoop, score, touchdown.

“Now if the officials had reviewed that and said, ‘After further review there was no fumble, down by contact’ I probably would not have agreed with that judgment, but I would have said, ‘OK, it was close. Maybe.’ To me they went off the board and said incomplete. Can’t, can’t happen.”

The bottom line is that Davis sees calls being blown with more frequency this season. It isn’t just Auburn-Oklahoma. And it threatens to ruin some really good football games… and the integrity of the sport.

“I mean you’re not going to get them all right,” Davis said. “I get that. I’m not going to bat 1.000 in broadcasting. The egregious ones have to go.

“We’re starting to get acknowledgements regularly from various places of, ‘Well, we screwed up this rule by the book.’ Judgment calls, I brought up the pass interference, I shouldn’t. That’s a judgment call, you’re going to miss those. That’s a bad one. The other ones? No.”