There was controversy surrounding the first offensive touchdown scored in Saturday’s top-25 matchup between Oklahoma and Auburn.
On a 24-yard touchdown from OU’s John Mateer to Isaiah Sategna, it looked as if the Sooners tried to take advantage of the substitution rule to deceive the Auburn defense. Sategna walked all the way to the OU sideline as if he was subbing out of the game, but he never actually came off the field. Instead, he lined up right next to the sideline.
Auburn never sent anyone out to cover him and Mateer hit Sategna for an easy pitch and catch. ESPN’s rules expert Matt Austin said during the broadcast that OU should have been flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Auburn’s coaching staff seemed to agree.
ESPN’s Molly McGrath caught the head referee of the crew, Jeff Heaser, for an explanation of why no flag was thrown.
“All I can say about that is we confirmed there were 11 people on the field and No. 5 technically never left the field of play,” Heaser told ESPN.
Here’s the play:
Did Oklahoma use the substitution rule to deceive Auburn? If so, obviously illegal, according to Matt Austin, ESPN's rules analyst. Hard to judge intent. pic.twitter.com/4YWgYv2Ss2
— Gabe Burggraf (@GabeBurggraf) September 20, 2025Oklahoma went up 10-3 thanks to the touchdown. Auburn tied the game at 10-all with a minute to go before the half.
The Tigers also felt they were on the wrong end of another officiating mistake in the first quarter when a scoop-and-score touchdown for the Auburn defense was taken off the board by video review. Coach Hugh Freeze said he felt the play should have been ruled a fumble. Instead of Auburn taking a 7-0 lead, Oklahoma retained possession and went on to kick a field goal to go up 3-0.
If the Tigers end the game on the wrong side of the scoreboard, Freeze will likely have a bone to pick with the officiating crew.
SEC official explains why Oklahoma WR wasn’t flagged on controversial TD Saturday Down South.
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