Big Ten Hands Down Soft Punishment To Ohio State, Michigan For Postgame Brawl That Included Pepper-Spray

It seems as though the Big Ten did not appreciate the postgame fight between Ohio State and Michigan on Saturday afternoon following the Wolverines win in Columbus. But, the conference is not handing out any suspensions for the incident, just monetary penalties. 

The college football world was left stunned by seeing Michigan upset the Buckeyes this weekend, giving Ryan Day another loss to the Wolverines, with his current record 0-4 against the team from the north since taking the Ohio State job. 

But in a more embarrassing situation for both teams, a fight broke out following the game when Michigan players took the school flag and planted it on the Ohio State logo at midfield in celebration of the win. This led to pandemonium, as players from both schools had to be separated by law enforcement as the melee continued. 

For some reason, which is still being investigated, security officials used pepper-spray on players from both teams hoping to deescalate the situation. Unfortunately, this only made the who thing a bigger mess, with players, school officials, coaches and media members on the field catching some of the dispersion in the eyes. 

Now, the Big Ten is handing out big monetary fines to both schools for the postgame nonsense. Yes, I'm being sarcastic by saying that each school has to pay $100,000 for their involvement. Schools across the country are penalized more for having fans storm the field. But Michigan and Ohio State were throwing down so hard that police officers had to use pepper-spray to break it up, so they're fined a low-end figure, that certainly doesn't send any type of message. 

Congrats, I'm sure that's really going to scare teams in the future. 

COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 30: Law enforcement motions Michigan Wolverines players away after a brawl broke out following a 13-10 Michigan win against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 30, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

A $100K Fine For Ohio State And Michigan. That's It?

Yea, I'm a little thrown-off by the dollar-figure in this case, given that both teams decided to hold their own ‘Survivor Series’ following the game at midfield. Sure, that public reprimand is really going to drive home the point that this won't be tolerated in the future. 

Also, let's not act as though the shenanigans in Columbus weren’t being watched by other teams across the country as the participated in their own ‘Flag Planting’ into the late Saturday night slate of games. 

NC State and North Carolina were having a ‘Stadium Stampede’ match following the game in Chapel Hill, with players throwing jabs all over the field. 

Personally, I don't care if a team wants to plant its flag on the opposing team’s field, but the team had better be prepared for the home team to guard its territory. 

In the case of Ohio State and Michigan, everyone involved in preventing that incident from occurring failed, even the police officers using pepper-spray like it was a bottle of Febreeze for their house.