BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Derrick Brown could only shrug at the game official.

Auburn’s elite defensive tackle appeared to have been held by an LSU offensive lineman, and frustration was growing. No flags were being thrown. Meanwhile, Auburn fans watching from their homes watched replays in slow motion looking for every hold they could. Some tweeted at the SEC’s officiating account.

No. 9 Auburn’s 23-20 loss at No. 2 LSU stings, yes, especially for Auburn’s defense, which held the nation’s second-best offense four touchdowns under their scoring average.

And the perceived uncalled holding penalties? That only added salt to the wound.

“I mean, I feel like we dominated,” Auburn defensive end Marlon Davidson said. “I really do feel like that. If you turn on the tape and you watch it, you'll see a lot of bad calls by the referees and stuff that should've been called. But at the end of the day, man, we played a great game on defense. We just came up short, man. We've got to go back into the lab and work again. That's all we can do.”

LSU managed to pile up 508 yards, but the home Tigers were stood up at the goal line twice by Auburn’s defensive front as LSU's 10-game streak of scoring 35 points came to an end. Brown had seven tackles, two for losses and a sack in the first quarter. Davidson had five tackles.

“I do feel like I was held a lot tonight, and it didn't really get called at all,” Brown said. “But, you know, at the end of the day the officials do their job and I can't sit here and fuss and complain about it because they're the ones who made the call. Me being upset and frustrated, it only takes me out of my game, so I just go with the flow of the game.”

Auburn finished with three sacks of quarterback Joe Burrow, who finished 32 of 42 passing for 321 yards and one touchdown with one interception. The difference was the third quarter as LSU’s offense started rolling. The home Tigers accumulated 194 yards, including 99 rushing yards, in the third quarter and grabbed a 16-13 lead it would not relinquish in the fourth quarter.

Auburn (6-2, 3-2 SEC) returns home to face Ole Miss next week at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It will mark the first game at home since Sept. 28.

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