Ohio State and Michigan Kick Off Fines for Flag-Planting-Filled Saturday

When Michigan players tried to celebrate its upset victory over Ohio State by planting a flag at midfield, they probably didn’t realize how quickly their actions would be copied. 

The two teams kicked off a slew of fights during college football’s rivalry week Saturday and now both are writing checks for it. 

Both schools were fined $100,000 for their role in Saturday’s postgame brawl by the Big Ten, and other schools may be getting similar notices after college football games saw eight fights take place over the weekend. No players were suspended following the OSU-Michigan incident. 

“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,” the Big Ten said in a statement.

Multiple Wolverines players tried to plant a Michigan flag at midfield of The Horseshoe, after their 13–10 upset win over the Buckeyes, after coming into the game as 20.5-point underdogs. Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer quickly took it and threw it, which led to his teammates rushing in to throw punches. The Wolverines punched back. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore and Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork tried to help police break up the fight, which ended with Wolverines star defensive tackle Mason Graham and Sawyer continuing to trash-talk each other before both sides walked away. 

Ohio State police used pepper spray to break up the skirmish as the television broadcast showed multiple players wiping their eyes. 

“Following the game, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up an on-field altercation,” Ohio State PD said in a statement Saturday. “During the scuffle, multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray. OSUPD is the lead agency for games & will continue to investigate.”

On Monday, the ACC fined four schools over similar actions and more fines are likely on the way: More fines are likely on the way: Multiple rivalry games, including North Carolina State–North Carolina, Florida State–Florida, and Arizona State–Arizona, also ended with an attempted flag plant—or in one case, a pitchfork—and several brawls. 

After the Gators beat the Seminoles 31–11 on Saturday, defensive end George Gumbs Jr. pinned a Florida flag on FSU’s logo in Tallahassee, only to see the Seminoles immediately topple it. A shoving match commenced. Florida State coach Mike Norvell later grabbed the flag and had an exchange with Gators coach Billy Napier afterward. Napier said there would be “consequences” for those behind the flag plant. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield popularized the flag plant when he did it to the Buckeyes after beating them 31–16 in 2017 when he was Oklahoma’s quarterback. Mayfield said after Sunday’s game against the Panthers that flag planting is part of rivalries, which are essential to college football and shouldn’t be outlawed. 

“I’ll say this: OU-Texas does it every time they play,” Mayfield said after leading the Buccaneers to a 26–23 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. “It’s not anything special. You take your ‘L’ and you move on. I’ll leave it at that.”

He later added, “College football’s meant to have rivalries. It’s like the Big 12 banning the ‘Horns down’ signal. Let the boys play.”

North Carolina wide receiver J.J. Jones prevented a flag plant after the Tar Heels fell to the Wolfpack 35–30 after a late score. Jones swiped an NC State flag before it reached midfield, which led to another scuffle where players had to be separated by coaches. Wolfpack safety DK Kaufman later took the flag for a victory lap around Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill. 

The ACC announced Monday it was fining UNC, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech for their players’ actions on Saturday in violation of the conference’s sportsmanship policy. The Cavaliers and Hokies had a shoving match before their game. While the ACC did not publicly disclose the amount, a copy of the conference’s bylaws obtained by Front Office Sports show the maximum fine a school can receive for a sportsmanship violation is $25,000. (Each conference sets its own rules and issues different fine amounts depending on the violation).

“The unsportsmanlike behavior that was displayed is unacceptable and tarnishes the passionate on-field play between these institutions,” the conference said in its statement.

Arizona State players bucked the trend—albeit slightly—of flag planting. The Sun Devils celebrated a 49–7 win with defensive lineman Jacob Rich Kongaika planting a pitchfork, which is part of the school’s logo, into midfield. Wildcats wideout Montana Lemonious-Craig removed it before players grappled for it over midfield. Ultimately, both teams were separated before things escalated. 

Instead of any attempts to plant flags, Missouri and Arkansas ended their rivalry game with some old-fashioned trash talking at midfield while coaches worked to separate the teams from each other.