Miami (Ohio) came back from 17 down to beat Ohio 34-17 on Tuesday night. And the play everybody is talking about Wednesday is a flag on the video board.
With six seconds left in the first half and Ohio up 17-7, Bobcats kicker Brack Peacock lined up a field goal. Miami’s stadium screen lit up with a bunch of extra uprights. Peacock missed. Then the flag came out: unsportsmanlike conduct on Miami, under the NCAA rule that says the people running the sound, video and lights can’t create a distraction. Ohio got an automatic first down, per the AP report on ESPN.
I have watched a lot of college football. I have never seen a team get penalized for owning too many goal posts.
And it didn’t even cost them
Here’s the best part. Ohio got first-and-goal at the 8 off that flag and came away with nothing. Blayne Myrick broke up a pass, and it was still 17-7 at halftime. The video board guy took a penalty and still won the possession.
Then Miami took over the game. The RedHawks were down 17-0 in the second quarter and scored the last 34 points. Brady Stidham tied it 17-17 with a 36-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter and put Miami ahead with a 25-yarder with 3:55 left. D’Shawntae Jones broke a 48-yard touchdown run at the 1:45 mark, and Amariyun Knighten took an interception back 58 yards 20 seconds later. True freshman quarterback Drew Bellisari got the win in his debut.
My take: let the board cook
The rule is the rule, and the officials enforced it the way it’s written. Fine. But think about what we allow everywhere else. Basketball students wave giant heads behind the backboard on every free throw. Neyland gets loud enough on third down to rattle your fillings. A cartoon of extra uprights on a screen is the same idea with a power cord.
If it’s a strobe light in a kicker’s eyes, flag it. If it’s a joke, let it ride. Crowd noise is part of the sport. So is a little trolling. This is the most MACtion thing that has ever happened on a Tuesday night, and I mean that as the highest compliment.
Faders: should video-board trolling during kicks be legal? I say yes, as long as nobody’s getting blinded.
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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
