Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, who is out for the remainder of the season with a broken ankle, is accusing SEC referees of cheating in favor of Alabama.
Nix appeared Monday as a guest on The Next Round podcast show, and made the comments ahead of this weekend’s annual Iron Bowl in which Auburn faces its cross-state rival Alabama.
“Just few of those obviously controversial calls that were in that game raises some questions for sure — I guess, unless you're an Alabama fan."
Nix said the “controversial calls” by officials clearly show favoritism toward Alabama and that he has witnessed them on numerous occasions, including this past Saturday when the Crimson Tide beat Arkansas 42-35.
“Just few of those obviously controversial calls that were in that game raises some questions for sure — I guess, unless you’re an Alabama fan,” Nix said in a clip of the interview that began circulating on Twitter Monday afternoon. “But that’s just part of the game. We’ve discussed it over and over and over. That’s not gonna change, no matter what happens.”
“I think you can watch the game, and anybody unbiased would think that something is different. But it is what it is. It's kind of how it's always been, but that's part of the game. And they have good players, you can't take that away from them."
When asked, Nix would not provide specific instances from the game in which he felt the refs had thrown flags under suspicious circumstances.
“I think you can watch the game, and anybody unbiased would think that something is different,” Nix said. “But it is what it is. It’s kind of how it’s always been, but that’s part of the game. And they have good players, you can’t take that away from them.”
Nix, a junior, suffered the season-ending injury during Auburn’s Nov. 13 game vs. Mississippi State. Before getting hurt, he managed to rack up 2,294 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions in 10 games.
In 2019 he led the Tigers to a 48-45 upset over Alabama in the Iron Bowl. It was the second loss for the Tide that year: No. 2 LSU beat them 46-41 in Tuscaloosa.
The Iron Bowl kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
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