After Michigan Wolverines beat the Ohio State Buckeyes, 13-10, for the fourth straight year, a fight broke out between both sides. Both universities will have to pay a fine of $100,000 each, but things don’t end here. The incident has sparked a nationwide discussion about poor sportsmanship, but how exactly did the whole fiasco occur? Well, after the game ended, OSU coach Ryan Day and Michigan’s Sherrone Moore shook hands at midfield. The Buckeyes players and coaching staff were in front of the South Stands singing ‘Carmen Ohio’, when Michigan’s athletes tried to plant their flag inside the center of the Block O.

This angered the OSU players and officers had to get involved. It took about 30 seconds to break the brawl, but when Ohio’s Jack Sawyer saw a Wolverines player still parading around with the Michigan flag, he ripped it away. This re-ignited the fight and, as per reports, officers had to deploy pepper spray on the players involved. The officers present were from multiple agencies, including the Ohio State University Police and the University of Michigan Police. While the whole situation lasted less than four minutes, it left the viewers with a lot of questions.

Although it’s been almost two weeks since that horrific event that took place on the field in Columbus, police bodycam footage has now been released which left everyone shocked. Dov Kleiman shared a clip of the incident on X, which is under three minutes. He wrote, “𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: Police bodycam footage from the Ohio State vs. Michigan post-game fight has been released. This type of behavior does NOT belong in sports.”

The cop’s POV of the incident, released after the game, shows police stepping in to diffuse the escalating melee. The heated emotions, shouting, and pushing, were all clearly visible in the footage. This incident was a striking contrast to the game itself, which was a grind-it-out, defensively dominant affair. For Michigan, this win propelled them to the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama, which could offer a consolation for the side deemed as the worst Michigan ever under year 1 coach Sherrone Moore. Yet, the brawl threatens to overshadow the team’s achievements on the field, leaving fans questioning the culture within the program.

Jim Gilbert, a chief deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, who was present on the field, had stated that law enforcement was present in case fans rushed to the field and had to pivot once the players started fighting. “So in this situation, we had to immediately, pivot. We didn’t have a plan, so to speak, in place that involves law enforcement officers getting in the middle of 6’5″, 6’6″, fully outfitted in their protective gear, college athletes,” he stated.

“When you have large football players that are engaging in an altercation, and all the safety and protective gear they have so that they can play a football game, keep in mind that comes down on you or you get forced down onto the ground, one of those players falls on you, you could be involved in having a head injury and in this case, an OSU police officer had a head injury, was hospitalized overnight because of that. So, in these scenarios and situations, we have to quickly, as things escalate, decide how we’re going to react and how we’re going to attempt to restore order.”

While Michigan’s physical, no-nonsense style has led to success on the gridiron, some worry it’s spilling over into unsportsmanlike behavior. For some, Sherrone Moore has spoiled the dynasty created by former legendary coach Jim Harbaugh, who left them for the big league just after leading the Wolverines to a College Football Playoff national championship at the start of the year.

Michigan Wolverines: Their fans’ pride turned to disappointment…

The release of police body cam footage drew immediate reactions online, particularly from Michigan’s own. The comments on the post revealed how fans felt. The program once prided itself on discipline and class under Harbaugh and a couple of fans couldn’t help but look back into the past. They wrote:

• “Harbaugh never allowed this cr-p.”
• “As a Michigan fan, I’ve never been more ashamed of the program.“

As Michigan heads into a high-stakes matchup against Alabama, they’ll need to address not just their playbook but also their public perception. A sense of unease was visible among fans who felt the post-game antics took away attention from the team’s hard-fought victory. What’s interesting is that the game was scoreless through the first quarter, which marked the first instance between these teams since 2016.

• “Clearly Michigan is at fault ;)”

This was their 120th meeting, and the Wolverines improved to 62-52-6 all-time in this rivalry. But with the brawl, both sides have been eager to point fingers at the other. However, the footage doesn’t lie—it was Michigan’s flag-planting that sparked the melee. On the other hand, there were Michigan fans who were also mad at OSU. They wrote:

• “Ohio State should’ve made a statement by winning the game…..not fighting over a flag.”
• “Ohio State chose to show up when the game no longer mattered, because they didn’t show up when it did. Simple as that.”

Regardless, the altercation had raised questions about accountability and whether the program’s leadership was doing enough to instill discipline. As Michigan gears up for its clash with Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve, the shadow of the Ohio State brawl looms large.

Do you think Sherrone Moore’s program needs more discipline? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.