Rapid Reaction: Auburn holds on for late victory after another controversial call by SEC officials
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Auburn-Ole Miss game featured a pair of teams desperate for victories. And, naturally, it turned out to be a close contest. The 2 teams were tied 14-14 at halftime and continued to go back-and-forth in the second half.
In the second half, Auburn took a 27-21 lead against the Rebels on an incredible run by RB Tank Bigsby, but missed the extra point. Ole Miss scored on the next possession to take a 28-27 lead.
That’s when chaos arrived in Oxford. Once again, the Tigers seemed to be the beneficiaries of a blown call by the referees, as a tipped kickoff wasn’t ruled a fumble, costing Ole Miss a potential touchdown:
Head referee Marc Curles said the Auburn returner didn’t touch the ball.
It’s close. pic.twitter.com/eLEmo3uoOq
— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) October 24, 2020
Once again, Auburn had the ball late with a chance to drive down the field and win. And, this time, QB Bo Nix made the big play, finding star WR Seth Williams on a back-shoulder throw.
Williams did the rest, dodging the Ole Miss defenders and sprinting to the end zone for the long touchdown:
https://twitter.com/SidelineCFB/status/1320078612280860672
Nix also found Williams in the end zone for a crucial 2-point conversion, making the score 35-28.
Ole Miss unleashed a furious attempt to drive down the field and score to send the game to overtime, but ran out of time deep in Auburn territory, coming up short in the 35-28 loss.
A costly drop by TE Kenny Yeboah and then a last-second desperation heave by QB Matt Corral when he was past the line-of-scrimmage were the last 2 plays in the loss for Ole Miss.
Much like Arkansas earlier this season, Ole Miss fans will leave this game feeling like they were potentially robbed of a win by SEC officials. Auburn is 3-2, but could very easily be 1-4 if not for some controversial calls by referees.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
