Nike was obviously very proud of the retro "Pro Combat" look it dreamed up for Ohio State to wear in today's rivalry match with Michigan, in honor of the Buckeyes' 1942 national championship team. Part of that look included lightweight "Vapor Jet" gloves featuring "premium Magnigrip CL technology" and custom art specifically designed to display a block 'O' when the palms are brought together. Nike has put a similar design on the gloves for every team in the Pro Combat line, including a script 'A' for Alabama in last year's BCS Championship Game.
The only problem? When Ohio State receiver DeVier Posey brought the gloves together to form the 'O' after taking in a touchdown pass from Terrelle Pryor to put the Buckeyes up 24-7 in the second quarter, he was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. OSU was subsequently forced to kick off to the Wolverines from its own 15-yard line instead of its own 30. Later, when offensive lineman Mike Adams flashed the 'O' to the crowd to celebrate a 32-yard touchdown run by Boom Herron that extended the OSU lead to 31-7 in the third quarter, he was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty, too.
Fortunately for the Buckeyes, the score was too lopsided by the middle of the second quarter for the extra yardage to matter. (It didn't matter, either, when a 98-yard touchdown run by Herron in the third quarter – the longest play in the history of Ohio Stadium – was negated by a lame holding penalty at the end of the play, slashing the gain to 89 yards and forcing OSU to eventually settle for a field goal instead.) Next time, maybe they'll get the novel handwear approved by the Big Ten officiating office before signing off on it.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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