Ohio State Police Confirm Use of Pepper Spray During Postgame Scuffle With Michigan

An ugly fight between the two rivals broke out moments after the Wolverines secured their 13–10 victory.

Players scrum at midfield following Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines. / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan's dramatic 13–10 win at Ohio State turned ugly after the game, as a fight broke out at midfield after Wolverines players attempted to plant a flag on the Buckeyes' midfield logo.

Soon after the scuffle was finally quelled, reports emerged that police on the field used pepper spray to break things up. Ohio State police confirmed as much in a post on social media on Saturday evening.

"Following the game, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up an on-field altercation," the post reads. "During the scuffle, multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray. OSUPD is the lead agency for games & will continue to investigate."

A video posted by Michigan outlet UMGoBlue.com appears to show the use of pepper spray as police attempted to separate the players.

Thanks for the pepper spray pic.twitter.com/ZyIwOpTogs

— Michigan Football on UMGoBlue (@UMGoBlog) November 30, 2024

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day, who has now lost four consecutive games to the rival Wolverines, appeared to rationalize the thinking of his players during his postgame press conference.

"I don't know all the details of it," Day said. "But I know that those guys were looking to put a flag on our field and our guys weren't going to let that happen."

With the loss, Michigan is now unbeaten against Ohio State dating back to 2019 (the rivalry did not take place during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season). At 10-2, the Buckeyes will likely still reach the College Football Playoff, but they will miss the Big Ten championship—a potential rematch against Oregon—unless both Penn State and Indiana suffer upset losses on Saturday afternoon.

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