Video: Did referee pump fist after Mississippi State scored vs. Texas A&M?
A referee in Texas A&M's 35-28 loss on Saturday appeared to pump his fist after Mississippi State running back Aeris Williams scored a rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead.
SEC director of communications Chuck Dunlap said the umpire was not celebrating and explained the fist pump in an email provided to Paste BN Sports:
"The motion referred to in the video is a common non-verbal communication signal of clamping the whistle used by the umpire to signal a clean touchdown to officials on the wing. The umpire made the same motion on virtually every touchdown today, including those by Texas A&M."
Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin expressed frustration with the officiating at halftime during an SEC Network broadcast, more frustrated because his starting quarterback Trevor Knight was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury he suffered on a play that Sumlin believed was a missed roughing the passer penalty.
This isn't the first time Texas A&M has questioned officiating. Sumlin expressed frustration in a postgame news conference and spoke with the head of SEC referees after the Aggies' loss to Alabama on Oct. 22. In that game, A&M was called for an iffy targeting penalty but the Crimson Tide controversially were not on a similar play.
Here's video of the referee appearing to pump his fist after the touchdown.