Rivalry weekend brought the heat—and then some! The chaos hit new levels with not one, not two, but FIVE full-blown brawls erupting on the field. Emotions boiled over, fists flew, and flags were thrown. It was a college football weekend for the books. But seriously, isn’t it time the NCAA steps in to crack down on these brawls and field storming? Former NFL star turned analyst has something to say about it, but fair warning—his take might ruffle some feathers. 

Shannon Sharpe doesn’t sugarcoat or conceal anything. That trait was quite visible in their latest discussion on Nightcap on YouTube on December 1. The $14M Hall of Famer isn’t one to hype the rivalry fights, as he called for a fitting consequence. He said, “You remember when fans started storming the field? They started hitting them with a quarter million dollar fine. They’re gonna start fining them heavily. There gonna be a penalty.” 

Whether you’re a player or fan, you’d never want to see your biggest rival planting their flag in the middle of your home field. This particular reason is what caused most of the rivalry fights that broke out this weekend. Perhaps the most prominent one stemmed from ‘The Game’ between Michigan and Ohio State. After the Wolverines delivered an unexpected upset defeat to Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, they attempted to plant their flag in The Shoe. Needless to say, OSU came in to intervene, which incited a big physical fight. Can you imagine? Pepper spray had to be reportedly used to break up the fight! 

North Carolina vs North Carolina State also saw a fight stemming from a similar cause when NC State brought their school flag to plant it on UNC’s turf after their 35-30 win. But before that could happen, the Tar Heels confronted them and nearly threw their flag to the stands. Another dramatic fight broke out between Florida and Florida State players when the Gators planted their flag and the Seminoles pulled it out. Their brawl involved even the coaches. But flags aren’t the only reason fights broke out. 

Pitchforks and emotions rock CFB rivalry weekend

Arizona State celebrated their 49-7 victory over Arizona in a unique way. Taking the Sun Devils mascot’s pitchfork, ASU DL Jacob Rich Kongaika thrusted it into the midfield logo of the Wildcats. Arizona receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig pulled the fork out, attracting his rival players to get into defensive mode. Following this, Arizona RB Quali Conley said that the gesture was “disrespectful.” But Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo has a different thing to say—“I didn’t know that happened, but that’s awesome.”

As if that’s not enough, the Alabama vs. Auburn clash also saw emotions getting the better of players. But different perceptions follow these fights. Shannon Sharpe’s co-host Chad Johnson also thinks otherwise, as he said of the scuffles, “There’s nothing you can do about it… It makes rivalry that much more exciting, something to look forward to the following year.” Yeah, the losers in these games are going to hold grudges when they meet next year, which will make it more exciting. What do you think about these rivalry fights?