Michigan State, Ohio players and police involved in postgame brawl following Buckeyes’ upset loss

The dramatic end to one of college football’s fiercest rivalries only intensified after the final whistle on Saturday Michigan AND Ohio State players got into a fight after The Wolverines upset the No. 2 Buckeyes 1:10 p.m. at Ohio Stadium.

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As both teams gathered in midfield after the game, a group of Wolverines tried to plant a Michigan flag in midfield. Ohio State players tried to break up the celebration, but a heated exchange of words turned into a fight. At some point, Ohio State’s defense runs out Jack Sawyer he tore the flag from a Michigan player and threw it on the pitch.

After the game, a fight broke out between Michigan and Ohio State pic.twitter.com/XPwdAjfYzN

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024

Police and band staff moved in to break up the fight. During the match, several players lay on the ground and rubbed their faces after being exposed to pepper spray.

“After the game, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up a fight on the field” – Ohio State University police – wrote in the statement. “During the fight, multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan used pepper spray. OSUPD is the lead gaming agency and will continue to investigate.

Players and coaches from Michigan State and Ohio State had different perspectives on the brawl.

“After such a great match, you can’t see things like that after the match. It’s just bad for the sport, bad for college football, but at the end of the day they have to learn to lose, man” – Michigan is back Kalel Mullings he said in a post-game interview on Fox.

“You can’t fight and stuff just because you lost the match. We had 60 minutes for this whole fight, we had four quarters for this whole fight. And now people want to talk and fight. This is bad. It’s just bad for the game. Classless in my opinion. And people have to be better.

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said his players defended their home turf.

“I don’t know all the details of this situation, but I know these guys want to put the flag on our field and our guys are not going to let that happen,” Day said.

Ohio State’s loss to Michigan – its fourth in a row – will likely cost the Buckeyes (10-2 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) a spot in the conference title game. No. 1 Oregon He had already secured his place in the championship and finished 4th Penn State with the victory he will take second place Maryland on Saturday. According to The Athletic’s Austin Mock, the Buckeyes still have a better than 99% chance of making the College Football Playoffs and currently have a 92% chance of hosting a first-round game.

Michigan (7-5, 5-4) and Ohio State were tied at 10 throughout the second half until the final minute of the fourth quarter when Michigan State’s kicker Dominik Zvada he hit a 21-yard field goal to give the Wolverines a three-pointer. Ohio State failed to gain more than a yard on its next drive, turning the ball over on downs to give Michigan its 62nd victory in the series.

“We will win at your place and plant the flag” – Michigan State quarterback Davis Warren he said. – You should do something about it.

The planting of the flag is not a rookie tradition in college football, especially between these two teams. In 2022, after Michigan State earned its first victory at Ohio Stadium since 2000 – a 45-23 victory over the then-top-ranked Buckeyes – the team also placed an “M” above the “O” logo at Ohio State’s midfield. This flag was later displayed in the lobby of the Towsley Museum in Schembechler Hall, Michigan.

Infamous, former Oklahoma Quarterback Baker Mayfield planted an OU flag above the “O” emblem in 2017 when the Sooners defeated the Buckeyes 31-16. Mayfield even took a victory lap with the flag and planted it in the ground even though the Ohio State team had already gone to the locker room.

Mayfield said then that his and his teammates’ reaction to the 2017 upset was partly due to the “embarrassment” of hearing Ohio State players sing a fight song on the Sooners’ field after blowing a 45-24 record the year before.

What I saw on the pitch

With about two minutes left in the game, several dozen officers on bicycles gathered in the end zone as part of postgame procedure. Michigan State players and coach Sherrone Moore went back and forth with Ohio State fans behind the Michigan bench in the final seconds, and as the clock struck zero, a huge celebration broke out on the field, followed by water pouring. While Moore was interviewing Fox after the game, one group of Michigan State players ran to the end zone to celebrate with fans and another group gathered at midfield for a flag planting, just as they did after their 2022 victory over the Buckeyes .

As the players were in the process of planting the flag, shoving broke out and a chaotic scene ensued, with some staff members rushing in to break up the fight and others running away. The fight seemed to be under control, but then it broke out again. At that point, law enforcement officers began separating the teams, and at least one Ohio State fan was placed in handcuffs on the field. As I approached the center of the altercation, I noticed a strong chemical aftertaste, and the reporter walked away from the scene, rubbing her eyes and saying she couldn’t see. Michigan State players said several of their teammates were also sprayed with mace.

At that point, Moore and other Michigan State personnel tried to restrain the players and direct them toward one of the end zones. Officers lined up on bicycles in the midfield line to separate the teams, and players gradually cleared the field. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day stood on the sidelines; the broadcast later showed him asking his players What happened. — Austin Meek, Michigan beat writer

This story will be updated.

(Photo: Jason Mowry/Getty Images)