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The Michigan Wolverines pulled off an improbable win in their rivalry series against Ohio State on Saturday, stunning the Buckeyes in Columbus to end their Big Ten title hopes. After the game, tensions boiled over.
An ugly brawl broke out after Michigan players attempted to plant a Wolverines flag on Ohio State’s logo at midfield. Chaos ensued as authorities used pepper spray to end the fighting.
The scene put a damper on what was a great game. Despite entering as three touchdown underdogs, the Wolverines stymied Ohio State’s offensive unit. QB Will Howard was held to just 175 passing yards while being picked off twice. One of those interceptions set up Michigan’s only touchdown of the day.
After entering the halftime break tied at 10-10, neither team could get much going on the offensive side of the ball. The Buckeyes were held scoreless in the second half while the Wolverines’ only points came on a game-winning field goal with 45 seconds left on the clock.
It’s up, it’s good, and it’s the game-winning field goal!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/NwEFZgTbDh
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 1, 2024
The brawl broke out shortly after the game’s conclusion as Ohio State tried to protect its home turf. Michigan wanted to flex its muscle by planting a flag on the field. The Buckeyes weren’t going to let it happen!
The two sides were eventually separated, and now, they’ve received punishment from the Big Ten. Both schools will land six-figure fines for their roles in the fight, according to college football insider Brett McMurphy.
Michigan & Ohio State each fined $100,000 by Big Ten for violating league’s sportsmanship policy after postgame incidents. That should buy a lot of pepper spray for next year’s game
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 1, 2024
The league released a short statement on the brawl Sunday. Each program will be docked $100,000 for their actions.
“The Big Ten Conference has determined that the actions of both teams following the Michigan-Ohio State football game on Saturday, November 30, 2024, violated the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy. Not only did the actions of both teams violate fundamental elements of sportsmanship such as respect and civility, the nature of the incident also jeopardized the safety of participants and bystanders.
“As a result of these violations, the Big Ten Conference has issued an institutional fine to both the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University in the amount of $100,000 each.
“The Big Ten Conference considers this matter concluded and will have no further comment.”
Hopefully, this helps prevent a similar situation in future rivalry matchups.