Refs Penalize Ben Roethlisberger's Jersey...20 Years After It Was Last Used

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Miami (OH) RedHawks quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got penalized in today’s MAC title game…wait, what?

At least, that’s what it seemed like for a moment in today’s game against the Toledo Rockets. 

During the RedHawks' 23-14 win, a referee called a holding penalty on Miami. The official indicated that the penalty was on No. 7, which wasn’t logically possible.

In 2007, Miami retired that number after Roethlisberger left for the NFL in 2003. The eventual Pittsburgh Steelers legend left his college with a 65.5 completion percentage, 10,829 passing yards, and 84 touchdowns in just three full seasons. All of those are the best in school history, except for the yards, which is second-most.

So the refs accidentally  penalized a guy who hasn’t played a college game in two decades, or an NFL one two years. If that’s not officiating in a nutshell, I don’t know what is.

X users had some fun pointing out the highly usual penalty call. They even suggested that Roethlisberger might have made a guest appearance to help his alma mater out.

The RedHawks legend would be proud that a quarterback got Offensive MVP of the game. Current Miami quarterback Aveon Smith threw for 109 yards while adding 99 rushing yards.

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John Simmons graduated from Liberty University hoping to become a sports journalist. He’s lived his dream while working for the Media Research Center and can’t wait to do more in this field with Outkick. He could bore you to death with his knowledge of professional ultimate frisbee, and his one life goal is to find Middle Earth and start a homestead in the Shire. He’s still working on how to make that happen.