OXFORD, Ohio — This kind of unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was not on any college football junkie’s bingo card.
In a matchup of Mid-American Conference rivals, Miami University rallied for a 34-17 victory against Ohio University on Tuesday. But some unorthodox antics just before halftime drew a flag. Miami was penalized for “depictions of the field goal uprights on the scoreboard,” WLWT reported.
At the time, Ohio led 17-7 and was attempting to extend its lead with six seconds left in the half when kicker Brack Peacock hit the upright on a 34-yard attempt, according to USA Today.
As Peacock lined up to kick, the RedHawks video board controllers at Yager Stadium showed extra uprights behind the real goalposts, WKYC reported.
Certainly, a team can be flagged for having too many players on the field. But this was a new one -- a team penalized for too many goalposts in the kicker’s line of sight.
The RedHawks were flagged and Ohio had a second chance from the Miami 8-yard line. But holder Magnus Haines’ pass attempt on a fake field goal play was broken up.
Multiple goal posts used as a distraction on the video board results in the DOINK! Refs throw the flag for illegal use of the video board. Second FG attempt is a botched snap! #MACtion https://t.co/y6ph8TnHb5
— College Football Campus Tour (@cfbcampustour) November 11, 2026
Miami would score 27 unanswered points in the second half to win, improving to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Ohio fell to 7-3, 5-1.
By showing the goalposts the way it did, Miami had broken an NCAA rule that was passed in 2021, WLWT reported.
Rule 1-1-6 in the NCAA football rulebook 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.”
Never seen this call before 😭 Miami (Ohio) was called for a penalty for having too many field goal posts on the video board 😅 https://t.co/bRHZcpU8B7
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 11, 2026
Freshman kicker Brady Stidham’s 36-yard field goal tied the game at 17 just 44 seconds into the fourth quarter, and his 25-yard kick gave the RedHawks the lead for good with 3:55 to play, ESPN reported.
Bobcats’ quarterback Nick Poulos fumbled on a fourth-down play, and Miami’s D’Shawntae Jones then ran 48 yards for a touchdown to ice the victory.
Poulos then tossed his first interception of the season, which Amariyun Knighten returned 58 yards for the final score, ESPN reported.
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