Miami and Ohio State kicked off the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Wednesday night at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The game was played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on New Year's Eve and anyone watching on mute at a party might have been constantly confused as a flashing yellow graphic kept appearing on the ESPN scorebug.
It wasn't for a penalty, but a transition graphic used whenever the broadcast went to show a replay. The down and distance in the bottom middle of the screen would flash bright yellow and the CFP logo would pop up as the network went to a replay.
Many fans were confused by the decision.
WHY THE FALSE FLAGS!? pic.twitter.com/K40l4uqgSF
— McNeil (@REFLOG18) January 1, 2026
ESPN Having a yellow colored trigger flash on scoreboard after the plays is an unbelievable horrible choice
— Jolly (@jjolly74) January 1, 2026
@espn please fix your graphic going to replay, I keep thinking there is a flag every time the down icon flips yellow to show the cfp logo going to a review. pic.twitter.com/sIeSbjDsGi
— Therobfather87 (@Ther0bfather87) January 1, 2026
The ironic thing about this was that there weren't any penalties in the game through three quarters. None. There had been touchdowns and turnovers, but no penalties at all.
And yet many fans were constantly fooled because it looked like there was a penalty graphic appearing whenever the game showed a replay.
Don't count on this score bug decision continuing given the pushback from fans on social media.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Football Fans Triggered By ESPN’s Flag Yellow Transition Graphic During CFP Game.
