Missouri Asks SEC for Formal Officiating Review After Texas Loss as Greg Sankey Criticizes TV Announcers

One replay ruling in Columbia has become a dispute that reaches from Missouri's athletic department to the SEC office and the television booth. Two days after Missouri lost 34-20 to Texas, Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch asked the conference for a formal review of the officiating, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey answered the wider criticism by turning on the broadcasters who raised it.

The play at the center of it

The call came late in the third quarter on Nov. 7 at Faurot Field. Missouri led 20-13 when Texas quarterback Arch Manning, facing 3rd-and-10, lost the ball with the throwing arm moving forward. Officials on the field ruled it a fumble rather than an incomplete pass, and Texas came away with a first down. Referee David Smith upheld the call after a video review.

The SEC explained the decision in a statement that day, reported by Saturday Down South. "The ruling on the field was a fumble," the conference said, adding that replay found no "clear and obvious video evidence that he had firm control of the ball when the hand intentionally started forward in order to overturn the call."

Three plays later, Texas scored to tie the game at 20. The Longhorns added two more touchdowns in the second half to finish the comeback, as covered in Undrafted's recap of the game. Replay also overturned two Missouri receptions, a one-handed grab by Nashaun Montgomery and a diving catch by Cayden Lee, according to the Jefferson City News Tribune.

Veatch asks for a formal review

In a letter to Missouri fans on Monday, Nov. 9, Veatch said the school had asked the SEC for "a formal review" of the game's officiating, according to the Associated Press account published by ESPN (opens in a new tab). Veatch framed the request around accountability rather than the result. "To be clear, I don't believe in blaming or complaining about officials," Veatch wrote, while adding support for "making necessary changes to improve."

The letter's sharpest point was about the replay booth. Veatch wrote that the lack of transparency there "allows for an environment of speculation and mistrust," and said Missouri would "be strong advocates for that change within the SEC this offseason." The ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten already let viewers hear replay audio. The SEC does not.

Drinkwitz keeps it careful

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was careful after the game. The SEC has previously fined coaches $25,000 for criticizing officials. "If I say what I want to say, I'm going to get fined until I don't have any retirement, and I'm not going to do that," Drinkwitz said. Drinkwitz credited Texas for making "the plays they needed to in order to win the game," while noting the Longhorns were "the beneficiaries of some reviews that went their way."

Sankey takes aim at the booth

The ESPN crew calling the game, Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and rules analyst Steve Shaw, questioned the officiating on air. After the Manning ruling, Palmer said Missouri fans had reason to be livid "because it does feel like a lot of these calls are going against Missouri today," FootballScoop reported.

Sankey pushed back on Paul Finebaum's show on Nov. 9. "I am highly disappointed in announcers and their criticism, and they're wrong," Sankey said, according to Yahoo Sports. "Some of the worst officials in America are those in the announce booth." Sankey said officiating experts on a game Sankey watched Saturday were "flat wrong," and that the resulting narrative "is unacceptable to me, and we have to address that." FootballScoop reported that Sankey's criticism extended to ESPN's former officials, including Shaw, who previously led officiating for the SEC and the NCAA.

Sankey also objected to the SEC Network crew on that night's Oklahoma and Florida game revisiting a play from the noon broadcast, calling that criticism "unacceptable in my mind."

The transparency question

On replay audio, Sankey said the SEC's schedule makes the open model harder to copy. "We don't have the luxury of a Thursday night or a Friday night game," Sankey said, noting that as many as seven SEC games have been played at once this season. Sankey did leave the door open to change. "We'll take the responsibility, we'll take the heat, we'll work to continually improve," Sankey said, adding that the league would look at how to provide more transparency and access to its replay system.

What comes next

Missouri, now 6-3 and 3-3 in SEC play, fell out of the AP Top 25 on Sunday. The Tigers play at Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 14, and still have home games left against Kentucky and Oklahoma. Texas moved to No. 8 in the AP poll after the win. The AP report on Monday included no SEC response to Missouri's request.

Sources: ESPN (Associated Press), Yahoo Sports, FootballScoop, Saturday Down South, Jefferson City News Tribune.

Photo: Declan Greene/Mizzou Football (file photo from Nov. 7, 2026, vs. Texas).