Miami University in Ohio took inspiration from the New England Patriots in an attempt to distract a rival kicker – only this time, it backfired spectacularly.
The RedHawks of Miami were defending a field goal from the Ohio Bobcats at a short distance late in the first half of the latest installment of the ‘Battle of the Bricks.’
Ohio kicker Brack Peacock was unable to drill the simple 34-yard field goal attempt – watching as it clanged off the right upright. But officials threw a flag before announcing a bizarre penalty.
Miami was charged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for showing ‘depictions of the field goal uprights on the scoreboard’ in an attempt to throw off Peacock. Ohio was given the ball back at half the distance to the goal line.
The ESPN broadcast then showed what Peacock was looking at, which showed three separate images of the uprights.
Football fans on social media were left in uproar over the hilarious and over the top attempt at a ruse: ’15 yards for s*** posting on the jumbotron,’ joked one user on X.
Miami (OH) was hit with a strange unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against rivals Ohio
The RedHawks distracted the Bobcats’ kicker by showing multiple uprights on their jumbotron
It’s a similar tactic to one used by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots for years
While one user said, ‘This is genius lol,’ another said, ‘What are they doing… That’s horrible come on man.’
One comment read: ‘Yeah, that was all kinds of wrong. Definitely, intentionally done as a distraction! And it worked, against the offending team.’
‘anyone know where they got this idea?’ one user wondered.
It’s possible the RedHawks took inspiration from the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick after it was revealed in September the NFL team deployed a similar tactic in their games.
A former Philadelphia Eagles staffer revealed that New England would routinely show the broadcast feed on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium when opposing teams were kicking. The broadcast showed the reverse angle of the uprights, which threw kickers off and directly led to more misses.
Just weeks after the revelation, the NFL sent a memo to teams saying that video boards could not feature ‘flashing images, blinking effects, moving text/images, etc.’ while any team was kicking.
The NCAA has a similar rule: ‘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,’ reads rule 9-2-1.
The penalty ultimately had no adverse effect on Miami. Ohio decided to run a fake field goal to try and score a touchdown, but the Bobcats receiver in the end zone dropped the pass. After trailing 17-7 at the half, Miami rallied to pull out a 34-17 win over their in-state rivals.
