Ohio State, Michigan players fight at midfield after Wolverines try to plant flag after win
(This story has been updated with new information).
One of the biggest upsets in the history of one of college football’s most heated rivalries ended with a fight.
In the moments after Michigan secured a stunning 13-10 victory against archrival Ohio State on Saturday at Ohio Stadium, Wolverines and Buckeyes players got into a skirmish near midfield.
The ruckus appeared to be ignited by a group of Wolverines players attempting to plant a maize-and-blue Michigan flag on the Ohio State midfield logo.
In a video shared on social media by Nicole Shearin of WBNS-TV in Columbus, Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore is shown carrying the flag to midfield, where he is stopped and encountered by a group of Ohio State players.
From there, a physical altercation ensued, with shoving between the two teams. Multiple players were shown on camera and in various social media posts throwing punches. After several minutes, players were eventually separated. Before the fight was broken up, Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer ripped the Michigan flag away from Wolverines players and threw it to the turf before walking away.
Sawyer was shown in a video from 97.1 The Fan in Columbus expressing his disgust with Michigan players trying to plant their flag on the Block O.
“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know those guys were looking to put a flag on our field and our guys weren’t going to let that happen," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said after the game. "I’ll find out exactly what happened, but it’s our field. Certainly we’re embarrassed with the fact we lost the game, but there are some prideful guys that weren’t just going to let that happen.”
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork declined to comment on the matter to The Dispatch.
Reports: Police use pepper spray in Ohio State-Michigan fight
According to reporters on the field during the fight, police used pepper spray, which caused at least two Michigan players to go to the turf rubbing their faces.
As the fight escalated, police lined up to form a human wall at the 50-yard line, according to Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports.
The Ohio State Police Department released a statement in the hours after the game confirming that multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up the altercation and that in the process, "multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray."
"OSUPD is the lead agency for games & will continue to investigate," the department said in a statement posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
According to Brian Steel, a local Fraternal Order of Police union president, one officer was injured and transported to the hospital. Steel added that officers "are authorized to use pepper spray to stop assaults and protect themselves and others."
The victory was Michigan’s fourth in a row against Ohio State, giving the Wolverines their longest win streak in the series since 1988-91.
“For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game,” Michigan running back Kalel Mullings said in a post-game interview with Fox. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, some people, they’ve got to learn how to lose. You can’t be fighting and stuff just because you lost a game. We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters to do all that fighting. Now, people want to talk and fight. That’s wrong.”
This story was updated to add a video.