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Michigan seeking clarity on Tarik Black ‘flexing’ penalty that occurred against Michigan State
By Dave Holcomb
Published:
Michigan routed its “little brother” on Saturday, but one play still left the Wolverines puzzled.
After catching a 27-yard pass, which moved the Wolverines to the Michigan State 23-yard line with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Michigan junior wide receiver Tarik Black threw up his arms in a flexing position. For the action, Black earned a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said on a radio show Monday morning that the team has put in a question to the Big Ten to find out why Black was flagged for his action.
Harbaugh — "we have a question in on it (to the Big Ten)" on the Tarik Black penalty for flexing…."It would be a good thing to talk about" he says to @stoney16 for his radio show on 97.1 "it would be good to get some clarity"
— angelique (@chengelis) November 18, 2019
Michigan WR Tarik Black was flagged for this. He flexed. pic.twitter.com/kBKeXln8VW
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 16, 2019
Unless Black did something else that wasn’t caught on camera or said something to an official or opponent, the referees penalized him for an act that’s become rather routine in college football over the years. This seems to be a classic case of over-officiating.
The penalty moved Michigan back out of field-goal range to the Michigan State 38-yard line. Then, on the next play, quarterback Shea Patterson took a sack, so all the sudden, the Wolverines were back on their side of the field.
Michigan worked its way back towards the redzone, but the Wolverines had to settle for a field goal. Without the original unsportsmanlike foul, maybe the Michigan drive doesn’t stall.
In the end, it didn’t matter, as the Wolverines won anyway, 44-10. But it will be interesting to see how the B1G office responds to Harbaugh’s inquiry of the penalty.