Miami (Ohio) penalized for displaying multiple uprights on video board during Ohio FG attempt

It's not every day you see a penalty called on a team's video board

Nov 11, 2026 at 10:08 am ET • 1 min read

Miami (Ohio) and Ohio met on Tuesday night in a huge game in the MAC, as the Bobcats came in as the last undefeated team in conference play while the RedHawks sought bowl eligibility with a win. 

Miami was ready to pull out all the stops to try to beat their in-state rivals, and that included some video board shenanigans that resulted in an extremely rare flag being thrown on the RedHawks. At the end of the first half, Ohio kicked a field goal to take a 17-7 lead with two seconds to play. During the kick, Miami displayed images of three sets of uprights on the video board behind the goalposts, and the referees threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

There are a number of schools that will put the live video of the kick on the Jumbotron to mess with the kicker by having goalposts on the screen offset from the goalposts on the field. However, there's a difference between that bit of gamesmanship and outright plastering photos of uprights all over the screen to purposefully cause confusion, and we all learned that line exists on Tuesday night.

The penalty gave Ohio a first-and-goal from the 8, and rather than kick again after missing from 34 yards, the Bobcats opted to try and get in the end zone to extend their lead to three scores. The RedHawks' defense bailed out their video board operator by forcing a stop and preventing disaster, and the fact that they did it with two seconds on the clock proved a saving grace, giving Ohio only one shot at a touchdown. 

Chuck Martin's Miami squad, which had trailed 17-0 early, ripped off 34 unanswered points to win 34-17 and shut out the Bobcats in the second half to hand Ohio its first loss in MAC play. That further bunched up the top of the conference standings, where there are currently four teams with one loss -- with Miami one back of that group at 4-2 -- and the RedHawks made it so they can laugh about getting a penalty on the scoreboard operator rather than have it be a disastrous way to lose a game.