As Fox sports commentators digested the Michigan Wolverines’ stunning triumph over the Ohio State Buckeyes during ‘s Rivalry Week, a massive on-field brawl broke out — cutting players off mid-interview and stopping expert analysis short.
Held at Ohio Stadium Nov. 30, in Columbus, Ohio, the 13-10 upset marked the home team’s fourth consecutive loss to the archrival Wolverines, who came into the match as underdogs with a 6-5 record compared with the Buckeyes’ 10-1. The loss effectively knocks the team out of the Big Ten championship.
According to video footage and ESPN reporting, fighting ensued en masse after Michigan players and fans attempted to plant their flag at midfield in The Horseshoe. The Buckeyes and attendees rushed to stop them from doing so, and the eventual five-minute-long scuffle left players and coaches bloodied and one Ohio State University police officer injured. Punches were thrown and the kerfuffle was broken up after police usage of pepper spray.
Per reporting from CBS Sports, flag planting isn’t an unfamiliar concept, though it was in full effect during the slate of collegiate games during Rivalry Week, resulting in a smattering of altercations — though none on Michigan-Ohio State’s scale.
Shots of the moments ahead of the fight show Ohio State’s defensive end Jack Sawyer ripping away the Michigan flag from a fan. The TV broadcast depicted players wiping their eyes and coughing following the dispersal of pepper spray. Eventually, law enforcement — who says it will continue to investigate the incident — lined up at midfield to separate the two teams.
“For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game. Bad for the sport. Bad for ,” Michigan running back Kalel Mullings told Fox in the aftermath. “At the end of the day, some people got to learn how to lose. You can’t be fighting this stuff just because you lost the game. All that fighting, we had 60 minutes, we had four quarters to do all that fighting and now people want to talk and fight. That’s wrong. It’s bad for the game. Classless in my opinion. People got to be better.”
See some of the footage below:
