Video: Ohio State, Michigan Players Fight on Field After Wolverines' CFB Upset Win
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVNovember 30, 2024
Players from both Michigan and Ohio State broke into a scuffle midfield following the Wolverines' 13-10 upset win over the No. 2 Buckeyes on Saturday.
The incident at the end of the rivalry game boiled over after Michigan attempted to plant its flag on the Ohio State logo at midfield, with players pushing and exchanging punches for several minutes.
According to the Ohio State Police Department, "multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray" during the fracas.
There will be a few different perspectives on the postgame fight.
One is that Michigan attempting to plant its flag on Ohio State's field was a disrespectful move and an unnecessary escalation after a heated rivalry game. The Buckeyes were always going to retaliate.
The other is that if Ohio State didn't want Michigan to celebrate on their home turf, they should have just won a game—where they were favored by double-digit points—in the first place.
Troy Renck @TroyRenckIt was embarrassing ending. As Michigan running back Mullings said, Ohio State had 60 minutes to fight. Where was it then? Bad scene at end. But optics worse for Ohio State. This is one of the worst losses in the history of the rivalry. Especially at home <a href="https://t.co/jBA31muuz2">https://t.co/jBA31muuz2</a>
"Some people gotta learn how to lose," Michigan running back Kalel Mullings said in his postgame interview on Fox, clearly putting the blame on the Buckeyes for the postgame melee.
The loss has enormous ramifications for Ohio State (10-2), which now will miss out on the Big Ten Championship Game against Oregon, assuming that one of Penn State or Indiana wins on Saturday. If both do so, the Nittany Lions will face the Ducks.
The Buckeyes will still almost assuredly get into the College Football Playoff, but a conference title is no longer on the table.
As for Michigan (7-5), the win was an amazing conclusion to an otherwise disappointing season in Sherrone Moore's first year as head coach after the Wolverines won a national championship last season, Jim Harbaugh's final campaign at the helm.
Michigan has now beaten Ohio State four straight times, with Buckeyes' head coach Ryan Day firmly planted on the hot seat. Barring a national championship this season, Day may not be able to survive his struggles against Ohio State's fiercest rival.
Such are the stakes of certain rivalries. Ryan Day is 66-10 as Ohio State's head coach, but the inability to consistently beat Michigan—paired with the lack of a national championship during his tenure—very well could be his undoing.
