By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com
Bo Nix had some free time on his hands Saturday. For the first time in his college career, Nix wasn’t the starting quarterback for Auburn. Instead, the junior spent the day on his parents’ couch watching college football.
He tuned into Auburn’s 21-17 loss to South Carolina, but he also had an opportunity to watch the Tigers’ next opponent, Alabama, as the second-ranked Tide held off Arkansas, 42-35, at Bryant-Denny Stadium during the afternoon slate. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young set a school record with 559 passing yards and five touchdowns, including what proved to be the decisive score on a 40-yard pass to Jameson Williams that was subsequently reviewed by the SEC replay booth to see if the Ohio State transfer held onto the ball or trapped it against the ground as he came down with the pass.
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The booth upheld the ruling on the field, giving Alabama a 14-point lead with 5:39 to play. It was one of several lengthy reviews during the game that drew the ire of many tuned in from home.
“Just a few of those, obviously, controversial calls in that game raises some questions, for sure, I guess unless you’re an Alabama fan,” Nix said Monday during his weekly appearance on The Next Round. “That’s just part of the game. We’ve discussed it over and over and over. That’s not going to change, no matter what happens.”
Nix was later asked to elaborate on his remark and whether he thinks Alabama gets favorable calls from SEC officials.
“I mean, legitimately, I think you can watch the game and anybody unbiased will think that something is different,” Nix said. “It is what it is. It’s kind of how it’s always been. That’s part of the game, and they have good players. You can’t take that away from them…. There’s just good players throughout the SEC, and I think that could make officiating hard just with the speed of the game.”
It’s not the first time Nix has taken shots at SEC officials—nor was it the first time this season he has commented on them.
After Auburn’s 34-10 loss to Georgia on Oct. 9, Nix took exception to the officiating of that game. He was particularly upset about a non-call on a fourth-and-3 play that he felt should have been defensive pass interference against the Bulldogs, instead resulting in an incomplete pass to Ze’Vian Capers that left Auburn trailing 17-3 late in the first half. Nix pleaded with officials to throw a flag, but those pleas fell on deaf ears.
He went on to say there were other moments in that loss that he felt calls didn’t go Auburn’s way.
“I always feel like there are some questionable calls in big moments,” Nix said after the Georgia game. “Obviously, there were a few today that I thought could have gone differently. I thought the one to Ze there at the end of the half, that was just kind of one of those judgment calls that was tough. It’s hard to make a play on the ball when they’re that aggressive. So, I guess the officials were letting us play today. We should’ve been more aggressive on our end, I guess, and seen how they would’ve responded to that.”
Though Nix contended at the time that Auburn never has those sorts of calls go in its favor, it should be noted the Tigers have benefited from some questionable officiating in just the last two seasons. They won last year’s game against Arkansas on a controversial call that went their way, when Nix’s attempt to spike the ball and stop the clock for a game-winning field goal was reviewed and deemed a legal spike instead of a potential fumble recovered by the Razorbacks. That one resulted in an apology from the league office and clarification on the call. Auburn also benefited from an officiating error in its loss to Penn State earlier this year, when the officiating crew incorrectly shorted the Nittany Lions of a down, resulting in them punting on what should have been third down but was deemed fourth down.
Auburn and Alabama will meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter
Bo Nix had some free time on his hands Saturday. For the first time in his college career, Nix wasn’t the starting quarterback for Auburn. Instead, the junior spent the day on his parents’ couch watching college football.
He tuned into Auburn’s 21-17 loss to South Carolina, but he also had an opportunity to watch the Tigers’ next opponent, Alabama, as the second-ranked Tide held off Arkansas, 42-35, at Bryant-Denny Stadium during the afternoon slate. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young set a school record with 559 passing yards and five touchdowns, including what proved to be the decisive score on a 40-yard pass to Jameson Williams that was subsequently reviewed by the SEC replay booth to see if the Ohio State transfer held onto the ball or trapped it against the ground as he came down with the pass.
Read more Iron Bowl: Statistically speaking: Reason for concern for Auburn’s secondary entering Iron Bowl
Two years after his Iron Bowl moment, Zakoby McClain is still running
Finding the birthplace of the Iron Bowl at a busy Birmingham intersection
The booth upheld the ruling on the field, giving Alabama a 14-point lead with 5:39 to play. It was one of several lengthy reviews during the game that drew the ire of many tuned in from home.
“Just a few of those, obviously, controversial calls in that game raises some questions, for sure, I guess unless you’re an Alabama fan,” Nix said Monday during his weekly appearance on The Next Round. “That’s just part of the game. We’ve discussed it over and over and over. That’s not going to change, no matter what happens.”
Nix was later asked to elaborate on his remark and whether he thinks Alabama gets favorable calls from SEC officials.
“I mean, legitimately, I think you can watch the game and anybody unbiased will think that something is different,” Nix said. “It is what it is. It’s kind of how it’s always been. That’s part of the game, and they have good players. You can’t take that away from them…. There’s just good players throughout the SEC, and I think that could make officiating hard just with the speed of the game.”
It’s not the first time Nix has taken shots at SEC officials—nor was it the first time this season he has commented on them.
After Auburn’s 34-10 loss to Georgia on Oct. 9, Nix took exception to the officiating of that game. He was particularly upset about a non-call on a fourth-and-3 play that he felt should have been defensive pass interference against the Bulldogs, instead resulting in an incomplete pass to Ze’Vian Capers that left Auburn trailing 17-3 late in the first half. Nix pleaded with officials to throw a flag, but those pleas fell on deaf ears.
He went on to say there were other moments in that loss that he felt calls didn’t go Auburn’s way.
“I always feel like there are some questionable calls in big moments,” Nix said after the Georgia game. “Obviously, there were a few today that I thought could have gone differently. I thought the one to Ze there at the end of the half, that was just kind of one of those judgment calls that was tough. It’s hard to make a play on the ball when they’re that aggressive. So, I guess the officials were letting us play today. We should’ve been more aggressive on our end, I guess, and seen how they would’ve responded to that.”
Though Nix contended at the time that Auburn never has those sorts of calls go in its favor, it should be noted the Tigers have benefited from some questionable officiating in just the last two seasons. They won last year’s game against Arkansas on a controversial call that went their way, when Nix’s attempt to spike the ball and stop the clock for a game-winning field goal was reviewed and deemed a legal spike instead of a potential fumble recovered by the Razorbacks. That one resulted in an apology from the league office and clarification on the call. Auburn also benefited from an officiating error in its loss to Penn State earlier this year, when the officiating crew incorrectly shorted the Nittany Lions of a down, resulting in them punting on what should have been third down but was deemed fourth down.
Auburn and Alabama will meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter
