Was Auburn robbed of a win against Georgia?

Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images

AUBURN, Ala. — Sometimes, you know a game’s — even a season’s — most important play the moment you see it. Or don’t see it, as the case may be.

The Auburn Tigers were less than a yard from the end zone, seemingly about to take a 17-0 lead over the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs at the end of a half the Tigers had thoroughly dominated. And then, faster than the blink of an eye, it was all gone — Auburn’s potential touchdown, Auburn’s hopes of an upset win over a ranked opponent, Auburn’s hope of a salvageable season, all gone on a highly debatable fumble on the goal line.

Georgia got out of Auburn with a 20-10 win — a win that won’t go on any best-of lists, anywhere, true, but a win nonetheless. And for all the middle fingers that Auburn and its fans want to raise to the refs, the index fingers will be pointing at head coach Hugh Freeze and a team that couldn’t keep its composure … and the thumbs are fast pointing down at his tenure.

The state of play: High stakes for both teams

Saturday night marked the 130th meeting between the Tigers and the Dawgs — this is the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, of course — and one of many that turned deeply weird before the night was over. Twelve years ago at this very stadium, Auburn knocked off Georgia with “The Prayer in Jordan-Hare,” one of the unlikelier plays of the 21st century. Four years after that, the Tigers throttled then-No. 1 Georgia 40-17 … and that game, in 2017, marked the last time that Auburn had beaten Georgia to date.

So Auburn came into the game trying to avoid matching its longest-ever losing streak to Georgia, while at the same time trying to give head coach Hugh Freeze his first signature win in two-plus seasons as head coach. Georgia, on the other hand, was trying to stabilize a season that had quickly gone sideways with a loss to underdog Alabama.

Two teams in deep, even desperate need of a win. A night game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It would only have been a surprise if this game didn’t get weird.

The moment: Touchdown or fumble?

Pinch a sheet of paper between your fingers. That’s about how far Auburn was from establishing a three-possession lead on the Dawgs with just over 90 seconds remaining in the half. Instead: disaster that smothered Auburn in an avalanche of yellow flags and missed opportunities.

Here’s what we know for sure: Jackson Arnold fumbled the ball. Everything else is a matter of interpretation.

With one yard between himself and the end zone, Arnold took the snap, surged toward the line, and then — in a moment that will be debated at tailgates for years to come — had the ball punched out of his hands, either just before or just after he crossed the goal line. The referees ruled that the ball was already moving before Arnold crossed the goal line:

Auburn fans, however, insisted that he’d broken the plane before losing control of the ball:

But Auburn fans didn’t get a vote, and the fumble set off a cascade of misfortune for the Tigers. Georgia flipped the fumble into a field goal — the Dawgs’ first points of the game — just before the end of the half, and then scored another 10 straight points, silencing both the team and the 85,000-plus Auburn fans looking on from the stands. In the second half, Georgia moved the ball with purpose and confidence it hadn’t shown until the final seconds of the first; Auburn, meanwhile, lost every psychological edge it held, and soon enough lost its physical ones, too.

What’s next: Dark times on The Plains

Georgia can breathe deep on the ride back to Athens, knowing that it escaped what could have been a catastrophic second conference loss. The 5-1 Bulldogs can still hold realistic hopes for a CFP berth, even with games against ranked opponents Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia Tech remaining.

Auburn, on the other hand, is in real trouble now. The Tigers are 0-3 in SEC play, and Freeze’s job is on the thinnest branch of his two-plus years at The Plains, with games against ranked opponents Missouri, Vanderbilt and Alabama yet to come. Fury at the referees might save Freeze from some scrutiny this week, but a team talented enough to challenge for a CFP berth is now just 3-3 and effectively out of the hunt. The Tigers had this game in control, and then fumbled it away … with no debate or replay necessary to place blame.

Strange things always seem to happen at Jordan-Hare at night … but this time, Georgia ended up on the winning side.