If you watched the final weekend of college football’s regular season, you may have noticed a revolting trend.
“Rivalry weekend” featured some great games, but it also produced several fights and all-out brawls.
In Colombus, Ohio, teams from Michigan and Ohio State faced off in the 120th playing of “The Game.” The Wolverines upset their biggest rival, 13-10, in Buckeye Stadium. As soon as the game ended, a Michigan player tried to rush to midfield to plant his team’s flag in Ohio State’s midfield logo. The Buckeyes, whose hearts had just been pierced, didn’t take it too kindly and literally fought to keep the flag from piercing what many Ohioans consider hallowed ground. Both teams pushed, shoved and threw punches before police used pepper spray to disperse the players, coaches and support staff involved. During the melee, an OSU police officer was injured and needed medical attention.
Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day said afterward, “These guys were looking to put a flag on our field, and our guys weren’t going to let that happen. This is our field.”
In Tallahassee, Florida, the Florida Gators completed a dramatic in-season turnaround by whipping the Florida State Seminoles 31-11. Gator players stormed the field and planted a flag in FSU’s midfield logo, causing a fight and heated exchange between the teams’ head coaches.
After the game, FSU Head Coach Mike Norvell, who at one point grabbed the Gator banner, said the flag planting “was not gonna happen.”
Florida Head Coach Billy Napier apologized for the incident and said there would be “consequences” for those involved.
“Obviously, what happened there at the end of the game is not who we want to be as a program,” Napier said. “It’s embarrassing to me, and it’s a distraction from a really well-played football game. I want to apologize on behalf of the entire organization just in terms of how we represented the university there.”
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, NC State defeated North Carolina 35-30. A Wolfpack player stuck an NC State flag in the midfield logo, resulting in a scuffle.
“We don’t need any of that,” NC State Head Coach Dave Doeren said. “That’s bad for the game.”
In Tucson, Arizona State beat Arizona, 49-7. After the win, a Sun Devil jabbed his team’s mascot’s trident into Arizona’s logo, before players from both teams grappled over the prop.
“That’s our field. Just doing that was disrespectful,” Wildcats running back Quali Conley said. “I just feel like that was uncalled for.”
Having seen the poor display of sportsmanship across the country during the day, Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian ran to midfield after his Longhorns defeated Texas A&M 17-7 in College Station and could be seen repeatedly yelling “no” at his players and directing them away.
“Rivalries are great, but there’s a way to win with class,” Sarkisian said after the game. “I just didn’t think that’s the right thing to do. We shouldn’t be on their logo. There shouldn’t be flag-planting. Go win the game and go to the locker room.”
The following day, the Big Ten fined Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy.
“We have to collectively come together,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “We can do things independently as conferences, but we need to all come together and our approach must be aggressive. This is unacceptable.”
That night, lead ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, posted on X (formerly Twitter), “I think any conference commissioner who had a team or teams involved in the postgame fights owes it to his conference and THE SPORT of (college football) to study the film very closely and sit anyone who was involved in being an aggressor to help escalate the situation.”
Herbstreit’s plan could make conference commissioners and teams fall in line. Teams who make this year’s 12-team College Football Playoff will score $4 million for playing in the first and quarterfinal rounds. Those that advance to the semifinal and national championship will receive $6 million per game.
No school or conference wants to lose a player in a fight or suspend one who could be a difference maker in the most crucial part of the season.
“Sit those involved for their next game,” Herbstreit said. “Whether it’s a bowl game or playoff game. These dudes need consequences — for their own good!”
Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.
