Hugh Freeze, Auburn can’t overcome both Georgia and questionable officiating
By David Wasson
Published:
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze was turning red. Then a slight shade of purple. Then back to red again – all while fuming and gesticulating and throwing his headset in ripening levels of rage.
What specifically sent the Auburn coach into an apoplectic fit? The answer is simple: his Tigers were in the middle of a dominant first-half defensive effort against No. 10 Georgia, only to yet again be on the wrong end of an 8-man conference officiating crew and replay official dealing penalties and reversals against the Tigers like they were being spit out of a dubious blackjack shuffle machine.
Yep, 3 weeks after getting absolutely jobbed out of a game-altering missed penalty at Oklahoma, the SEC’s best and brightest were back at it again Saturday night in all their vertically-striped glory.
The embattled coach had just witnessed in person and on replay what appeared to be a 1-yard touchdown sneak by quarterback Jackson Arnold actually be judged a fumble – the most inexplicable stoppage of a staggering 5-review saga in the first half’s final 70 seconds that also included Tigers defender Amaris Williams being ejected on a questionable targeting flag.
Irate Auburn fans rained down “refs you suck” at the start of halftime, Auburn AD John Cohen was spotted unloading on striped shirts from close range, and Freeze – who had already chucked his headset a good 15 yards after the touchdown/fumble review – got himself a healthy piece of referee Ken Williamson’s ear heading into the locker room.
By the time sideline reporter Molly McGrath got to Freeze, the coach was able cycle through all the possible unprintable answers before settling on an un-finable response to McGrath’s question about what he was told about the review.
“I have no clue. I think it’s the … Our kids have played really hard and we should be up more,” Freeze finally muttered. “We dominated the first half. There’s been more stoppages – that might have been the longest first half ever. We are due a break, maybe, one of these dang times.”
In danger of going scoreless in the first half of a game for just the 6th time in 129 games under Kirby Smart, Georgia drove the length of the field to kick a field goal at the end of the first half to make it 10-3. From the Freeze-Auburn perspective, that 12-play gut punch was a devastating denouement on what had been a dominant Tigers defensive effort.
Before the march, the Bulldogs had only run 12 plays and possessed the ball for just 6:46 out of 30 minutes. Afterward, it was 10-3 and Georgia was to receive the second-half kickoff.
Yes, it was that big a momentum change.
Instead of the Tigers feeling in control and having Georgia on the ropes trying to dig out of what was trending toward a crippling second road loss, the Bulldogs had Uncle Mo on their sideline. And instead of rallying behind an “us vs. Georgia and the refs” at halftime, Auburn came out flat in the second half to allow the Bulldogs fresh hope.
Smart’s Georgia team was more than happy to oblige on the visiting sideline – as Chauncey Bowens plowed in for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 10-10 midway through the third quarter and Peyton Woodring drilled a 53-yard field goal for a 13-10 Bulldogs lead late in the same period.
Georgia even got another gift early in the fourth quarter from Williamson and his crew – as Smart clearly tried to call a timeout to avoid a delay-of-game penalty, got the whistle from the line judge on his side only then to then claim he was clapping. The result? No delay of game. No time out charged … just a re-play of the down. Auburn did manage to dodge that ref-bomb, however, as Woodring was wide right on a 45-yard field goal attempt.
Nevertheless, Auburn was unable to muster any more sustainable offense and Georgia tacked on a Gunner Stockton run with 1:53 remaining to lock up a 20-10 victory in the 130th meeting between the 2 SEC stalwarts. The loss, within Saturday’s context, shouldn’t spell doom for the Freeze despite the fact he is now 14-17 on the Plains in 2.5 seasons and staring 3 more ranked SEC opponents in the face over this season’s final 6 games.
Listen, NFL legend Bill Parcells always said that you are what your record says you are. And Auburn is now 3-3 after 3 straight losses. Would what certainly feels like another nonsensical explanation from the SEC offices this coming week salve a season that is rapidly dissolving into oblivion? Would another conference apology save Freeze’s job?
That is yet to be fully known. Plenty of ball left, right? Just don’t ask Freeze – as he feels like he lost as much to the third team on the field Saturday night as he did to the Georgia Bulldogs.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
