Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco seemingly audibles into fake punt, leads to Rutgers score
Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco turned some heads in the first half of Saturday's game against Rutgers.
With 6:31 left in the second quarter, Mirco (with the Buckeyes facing fourth-and-5 punt from their own 30-yard line) took the snap and scampered outside trying to reach the edge. He was knocked out of bounds. A hold was called on the edge anyways, which would have wiped out a potential first down.
The CBS broadcast then showed coach Ryan Day going over to talk to Mirco, presumably to ask him what in the world he was doing.
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Rutgers went on to kick a field goal on the ensuing possession to draw within one of Ohio State, 7-6.
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Perhaps Mirco didn't forget last year's incident against Rutgers, when he ran a fake punt with the Buckeyes up 39 against Rutgers and got leveled well after the play. If he wants revenge, however, this probably wasn't the way to get it.
Fake‼️ pic.twitter.com/6SqWW5qzIa
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The play came moments after Rutgers ran a fumblerooski for a huge gain, which also may have emboldened Mirco. Whatever the thought process was, it clearly didn't work in this particular spot.
The short field led to a short field goal by Rutgers to make the score 7-6 in favor of the Buckeyes. On Ohio State's ensuing drive, a Kyle McCord interception set the Scarlet Knights to take another field goal with seconds remaining to give them a 9-7 lead heading into halftime.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Watch: Ohio State fake punt by Jesse Mirco leads to Rutgers score