Official from Auburn-Georgia game permanently suspended by SEC

The Auburn Tigers are riding a four-game losing streak ahead of Week 9, but they may have just received justice for one of their most disappointing losses.

The SEC announced on Wednesday that the head referee who officiated the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry a couple of weeks ago, Ken Williamson, has been permanently suspended from officiating conference games. Grayson Everett of the Yellowhammer News was the first to report the news.

The suspension of Williamson, who has been officiating football for 41 years, per the New York Post, comes after one of the most controversial college football games in recent memory. The SEC received 11 complaints from the matchup, and nine of the 11 were deemed valid by conference officials, according to Yellowhammer News.

One of the calls that received the most national attention occurred at the end of the second half when Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold plunged into the endzone on a “tush push” from the half-yard line before a Georgia defender punched the ball out of Arnold’s right arm, causing him to lose control of the football.

After a nearly 10-minute review, Williamson and company determined that the ball failed to break the plane of the endzone before Arnold fumbled it, which expectedly created a monsoon of disagreement from Auburn fans. The officials ultimately gave possession to Georgia, and the Bulldogs cashed in with a field goal heading into halftime.

Consequently, instead of a 17-0 lead for the Tigers at the break, the 10-point swing kept Georgia in the game with considerable momentum that seemed to affect Auburn in the second half – especially offensively.

Another controversial call came in the third quarter when Georgia head coach Kirby Smart signalled and called for a timeout as the play clock was nearly at zero. Officials called the timeout for Georgia, but Smart then pleaded to the officials that he was clapping instead of wanting a timeout, insinuating that he was imitating an Auburn player clapping to affect the Bulldogs’ offense.

Williamson took Smart’s word for it and didn’t charge Georgia a timeout nor penalize them for a delay of game. So, essentially, Georgia was rewarded a free “do-over,” sending the Auburn fan base into a frenzy of disbelief and anger.

Additionally, the roughing the passer penalty charged to Auburn defensive end Amaris Williams on a 2nd-and-10 in the second quarter on Georgia’s last drive of the second half, as well as a missed potential targeting call committed on tight end Preston Howard, were a couple of cherries on top for Auburn fans.

A permanent suspension for officials, or any action of accountability for that matter, is extremely rare within the SEC. Auburn saw the same trend in its 24-17 loss at Oklahoma, where the Sooners ran an illegal play using a deception tactic to catch the Tigers out of position.

Oklahoma scored a touchdown on that play, prompting the league offices to release a statement later that night, explaining how the officials had wrongly handled the situation and that it ultimately should have resulted in no touchdown.

All in all, in terms of how this situation could affect Auburn, these officiating failures in two of the more important games the Tigers have played thus far could actually buy head coach Hugh Freeze more time on the Plains.

Freeze and athletic director John Cohen could make the argument that Auburn should be sitting at least 5-2 right now if the games were officiated correctly, which may potentially extend Freeze’s leash. As mentioned previously, holding referees accountable for poor officiating is normally not a common trend, but the magnitude of a long-time and experienced official could have a major impact on the program.

Many, if not all, fans seem like they want Freeze gone. The Tigers enter Week 9 at 3-4 on the season, and they find themselves 0-4 in the SEC for the third consecutive year. 

Second-half struggles, inconsistent quarterback performance, and lackluster play-calling also play a factor into Auburn’s inability to win football games, but this news could, in some way, shake up Freeze’s future as Auburn’s head football coach.