Jackson Arnold’s revenge game turned real nasty for Hugh Freeze’s team. It ended their 3-game winning streak of the season in the 24-17 loss. It’s pretty evident that Brent Venables took the 6-7 run of last year pretty seriously, and this year, they look like a different team. But does this win count when you end up breaking a rule in it? That’s right, Oklahoma’s second-quarter fake move ended up confusing Auburn’s defense, and now the entire CFB world is arguing over it. But whose fault is it?

The Auburn-Oklahoma clash turned into full-blown drama on the field. Oklahoma had just taken the lead against Auburn in the second quarter with a 24-yard touchdown pass to receiver Isaiah Sategna III. But before that play, Sategna pretended that he was leaving the game, walking towards Oklahoma’s sideline. That’s where the problem started. Now, Auburn’s defense didn’t cover him on the far side, thinking he was going out, and as a result, QB John Mateer took that opportunity and threw one for the score.

After this, Freeze argued with the officials, believing Sategna’s move was a penalty. In the post game presser, he said “I guarantee you, well, I better be quiet,” Freeze went on. “Said they didn’t hear us trying to call a timeout. We were instructed all offseason about deception plays and things, so we’ll see what’s said. I really don’t know what’ll be said about that.” Freeze’s frustration makes sense. As per NCAA’s Rule 9-2, Article 2, paragraph B: players should not fake substitutions or use any trick to confuse the other team, and even pretending to leave the field comes under it.

SEC Officiating took the entire thing on X and pointed out the problem. As per the rules, the officials failed to call this penalty correctly. Because if they had, Oklahoma should have received a 15 yards penalty for their unsportsmanlike action. But luckily they ended up getting a touchdown. So here comes in the bigger question: Would the fines ahead be worth it since the Sooners got away with a 24-17 win?

Analysts can’t stop trashing this move, as ESPN’s Matt Austin backs Hugh Freeze’s plea and says, “The way (Sategna) is walking to the sideline, his body language says ‘I’m going off the field.’ Then he stops right by the sideline, and it’s his own sideline. That’s no coincidence. To me, this is a hideout play, and it should be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.”

With that, another interesting notion comes to light. This might have been a planned move. Bob Stoops told Sooner Sports Radio Network’s Teddy Lehman that the Sooners were planning it throughout. Lehman gave another angle to it, mentioning OU’s wide receiver Deion Burks was the one distracting Hugh Freeze’s defense by doing trash talk while Sategna got off the hook and made his move. The final fine is yet to be decided, but let’s not forget that the Sonners’ victory wasn’t just about one play.

What went wrong for Hugh Freeze?

Brent Venables’ team was ready for this challenge. Every player was in their best form against Auburn. QB, John Mateer, proved why he’s the Heisman favorite, throwing for 271 yards. This victory leads them to an undefeated bye week and their second consecutive win against a ranked opponent. Venables is satisfied with the win, as he said, “Proud of our players. The determination, the resolve, the grit, the ability to overcome, keep fighting back, keep striking.”

But their defense was the hero of the game as they dominated Hugh Freeze’s team. They sacked Arnold ten times. Ten! And limited them to just 287 total yards. “We talked about going into the game. The only non-negotiable that has to happen for us to win this game is when the storyline has to say y’all (defensive linemen) played your butt off.” Venables said.

Now, the biggest concern for Auburn was running the ball, as they were trailing with just 67 rushing yards and only averaged 1.9 yards per attempt. Even Hugh Freeze knows their inconsistencies, as he said, “We were struggling to get push with all of the twist games. There were a lot more called, and Jackson chose to call the RPOs, which we’re fine with. That’s part of who we are. There were more runs called. It just wasn’t that type of night. I don’t know how many plays we got, but it didn’t feel like a ton.” Even though the penalty became the talk of the town, Auburn needs to make their offense stronger if they want to see any kind of sustained success this season.