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New angle shows Tennessee football was called for worst OPI of 2025 - maybe ever

The SEC officials continue to disappoint.
Braulio Perez
Braulio Perez

All for Tennessee

Tennessee v Oklahoma / Brian Bahr/GettyImages

The Tennessee football team was able to survive on the road against Mississippi State, but had the Vols lost, the fanbase would be even more upset with the officials than they are now due to an egregious call. You know what play we're talking about - the phantom offensive pass interference on Chris Brazzell II.

Late in the third quarter, Joey Aguilar, who was a bit off with his game in this one, connected on a game-changing 59-yard touchdown with Brazzell. It gave the Vols a lead and everyone in orange and the stands was jacked up. Then, laundry hit the turf.

Tennessee survives at Mississippi State despite rough offensive showing

Offensive pass interference indeed was called and it was questionable at the time. Then, replays kept coming in showing that the Mississippi State defender simply lost his footing. Take a look at the slow-motion version of things below. Yup, this was such a bogus call:

Tennessee football and Chris Brazzell II were clearly robbed of a TD in Week 5

On which planet is this OPI? Brazzell and the defensive back both have the right to go after the ball, which is exactly what the standout Tennessee wideout did on this play. He did absolutely nothing wrong and this should have never been wiped off the board.

Thankfully, Tennessee was able to overcome that mistake from the refs in the end, posting the incredible 41-34 victory. Brazzell finished with six receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown in the win, though everyone is ready to argue that he had one taken away for no good reason.

Tennessee ended up putting up 41 points in this one, which is weird seeing as how off the offensive unit was at times. It was a tough first road SEC game for Aguilar, who tossed two INTs in this one. However, he did throw for more than 330 yards and he had his TD to Brazzell. There's a lot to clean up on both sides of the ball, but UT is 4-1 on the year entering the bye week.

Braulio Perez

Braulio Perez

Braulio Perez is an NCAA Content Director for FanSided, joining Minute Media in 2017 after 2.5 years at the Newark Star-Ledger as a high school sports reporter and 2.5 years at the Lynden Tribune as sports editor. While with the Lynden Tribune, Perez was named the Sports Writer of the Year in 2012 for his division by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. At the Star-Ledger, he also assisted in coverage of college football recruiting. Perez's focus has been on college football recruiting, high school sports, the NFL, NCAA and English Premier League. He is also a regular contributor for 247Sports' Cougfan.com.