Nearly six years later, the controversial officiating in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Clemson received another story beat.
Ken Williamson, the head referee for the 29-23 CFP semifinals loss for the Buckeyes, has been permanently suspended from officiating SEC conference games, according to a report by Yellowhammer News.
The decision to effectively ban Williamson from calling SEC games comes after a reported 11 complaints against the referee and his crew during Georgia's 20-10 win at Auburn on Oct. 11. Per Yellowhammer, nine of those complaints were affirmed by SEC leadership.
Two calls in particular sparked outrage from the Georgia vs. Auburn game. The first came just before halftime when a would-be Tigers touchdown was ruled a fumble at the goal line, a decision that was then upheld by replay despite what appeared to be clear evidence to the contrary.
THE REFS RULED THIS A FUMBLE
— ESPN (@espn) October 12, 2025
GEORGIA PUNCHES IT OUT AT THE GOAL LINE pic.twitter.com/XdIgYywx5s
The second, and perhaps even more glaring miss that received major public attention, came when Georgia head coach Kirby Smart appeared to run down the sideline signaling a timeout, which was called, but was able to convince Williamson and his crew that he didn't actually ask for one, and the Bulldogs got their timeout back. Smart claimed after the game that he was trying to tell the crew that the defense was clapping and denied ever calling the timeout.
Kirby Smart just lied about calling a timeout and got away with it
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 12, 2025
This League pic.twitter.com/iKLXMB6Uad
Buckeye fans are more than familiar with the impact that controversial calls in a game Williamson and crew officiated can have. Two in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl will forever live on in the memories of Buckeye fans who bore witness: A targeting call against nickel Shaun Wade that crippled the Ohio State secondary for the rest of the game and awarded Clemson a first down on a 3rd-and-long when it would have been punting otherwise, leading to the Tigers' first touchdown, and a scoop-and-score that was overturned and ruled incomplete.
Now, it should be noted that replay made both of these rulings, but it adds another note to the saga of the game that ended the run of one of the most talented teams in Ohio State history.
