Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty / Ohio State / Michigan
If you were watching the Michigan Wolverines versus Ohio State Buckeyes game yesterday, things got really ugly when it was all said and done after a brawl broke out, leaving some players and one police officer injured.
Rivalry week in college football usually supplies fans with great games, but add some post-game fights to the mix this year. Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes matchup is considered one of the premiere rivalries in college football, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that emotions are high. Still, in this case, maybe the temperature was too high on the field.
After the Wolverines, who were 20.5-point underdogs coming into the big game, stunned the Buckeyes on the home field with a 13-10 victory, decided to plant their flag midfield at the Horseshoe, an all-out brawl between the players broke out.
Things escalated quickly as Michigan players gathered on the Block O logo to celebrate their big win, and several Buckeyes players quickly interrupted the moment by throwing punches.
The scuffle between the players lasted nearly five minutes, and police eventually had to get involved to help break it up. Still, the damage was already done as players and coaches from both sides were left bloodied, and one officer sustained injuries during the incident.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore and Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork made valiant attempts to break things up before Ohio St. police stepped in, trying to form two lines separating the teams, eventually deploying pepper spray.
Per ESPN:
Ohio State University police said in a statement that “officers from multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up an on-field altercation. During the scuffle, multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.”
They added that one officer was injured during the altercation and “transported for medical attention.”
Ohio State police said it will continue to investigate the incident.
Both Coaches Spoke On The Brawl
Following the game and brawl, both coaches spoke about the incident on the field. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day blamed the Wolverines for planting the flag.
“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know these guys are looking to put a flag on our field, and our guys weren’t going to let that happen,” Day said. “I’ll find out exactly what happened. But this is our field, and certainly, we’re embarrassed of the fact that we lost the game, but there’s some prideful guys in this team that weren’t going to just let that happen.”
Coach Moore took more of the high road in his statement, saying that both teams could have handled the situation better.
“It was emotions on both sides,” Moore said. “I did see they had the flag, and guys were waving it around, and their guys charged us. There’s emotion on both sides. It can’t happen. Rivalry games get heated, especially this one, it’s the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that one better.”
The Buckeyes—Wolverine game set the tone for college football for the rest of the day. There were other flag-planting incidents and brawls, but they didn’t escalate to the point where police had to disperse pepper spray.
Social media had thoughts about cops using mace on college football players, and spoiler alert; they are not shocked law enforcement is doing the most.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.