On Tuesday night, Ohio kicker Brack Peacock missed a 34-yard field goal. That was not due to incompetence, but instead, a trick the RedHawks used. So, Miami (OH) was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during the Battle of the Bricks.
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“On the previous play, there were depictions of the field-goal uprights on the scoreboard,” the official said. “That is a foul for unsportsmanlike conduct against Miami. Half the distance to the goal, automatic first down.”
ESPN College Football’s X post highlighted that and wrote, “Never seen this call before.”
Here’s why it was flagged: It violated NCAA rule 9-2-1, which states: “Persons subject to the rules, including bands and audio/video/lighting systems operators, shall not create any noise or distraction that prohibits a team from hearing its signals or obstructs play.”
The broadcast referee explained that the scoreboard at Yager Stadium had displayed images of the field goal uprights on the previous play, which constituted unsportsmanlike conduct. The announcers were just as lost as they described what was on the screen: pictures of what looked like four goal posts.
“That’s confusing for the kicker,” one of the announcers mentioned.
But does this trick sound familiar?
Well, the familiarity would be because of the NFL’s New England Patriots. Ryan Paganetti, an analytics expert, noticed something unusual back in September. The expert, whose NFL stops include the Eagles, Jaguars, and Raiders, picked up on a Patriots tactic that was diabolically clever.
When an opponent lines up for a field goal, the Patriots would put a different picture on the video board. It showed the formation from behind, with the goalposts cutting across the screen and creating four yellow lines in the kicker’s line of sight.
As per Paganetti’s research, the team had been using this trick for years with great results. He studied more than a decade of the team’s TV broadcast before sharing his findings. He also said the Eagles tried to copy it, but couldn’t because of where the boards sit at Lincoln Financial Field.
So, the league sent a memo to the teams prohibiting such actions. It stated that teams can’t depict “flashing images, blinking effects, moving text/images, etc.”
And it seems like the Miami (OH) RedHawks were inspired by the Patriots, or perhaps even by Oklahoma State.
Here’s why the trick works: kickers use the goalposts as their visual reference, and seeing extra uprights on the video board behind them can throw off their aim. ESPN also showed the view from Peacock’s perspective, making it clear how the display could have distracted him. And it worked against Ohio.
Ohio missed the field goal
Ohio missed anyway, so the stunt looked like it worked. But the flag gave the Bobcats the ball back with a few seconds left in the half and first-and-goal. They tried to cash in, but it didn’t happen.
Instead of attempting a field goal, they faked an attempt. Holder and punter Magnus Haines threw a pass to Evan Herrmann on the play after, and it was dropped. In the end, the flag was not too costly for the RedHawks.
But something similar took place in 2020, because of which video board rules were put into action. Back then, Oklahoma State put a stripe pattern on its video board against Texas.
Texas kicker Cameron Dicker hit a 40-yard field goal anyway. Longhorns coach Tom Herman said the Big 12 told him it was “not permissible,” and the NCAA later wrote video board operators into the rule.
The rule exists on paper now in the NFL and in the NCAA book, and Miami just found that it could cost them heavily next time. The RedHawks still walked off with a 34-17 win, despite trailing 17-0 at one point, a rivalry story, and every stadium operator has been warned.