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The sights and smells of college football’s week 14 come around. To most, week 14 means nothing, but to college football fans, it’s rivalry week. This is the week players work towards. The most heated rivalries all happen during this time, and anything can happen. This week is home to the biggest rivalry in all of sports: The University of Michigan versus the Ohio State University. Within the boundaries of Michigan’s campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the players are all geared up for ‘The Game’ as they call it. Everything they do throughout the year leads to this game against their rivals from Ohio. In the weight room, there is a large banner that says, “What did you do to beat Ohio State today?”
On the other hand, in Columbus, Ohio, the University prepares for the game in the same way, and they add their own twist to their surroundings. Before gameday, students and staff go around the campus crossing out every letter M they can find with a big red X. These two Universities hate each other, and it becomes very apparent when they meet on the field.
This year, Michigan went into the game with a miserable six wins and five losses, while the Ohio State Buckeyes went into the game ranked as the number two team in the country at ten wins in one loss. This year’s game was not supposed to be close in any shape or form, in fact, the Wolverines were nineteen-and-a-half-point underdogs when the betting closed. Despite the odds, the game was anything but a blowout. The game was tied until Michigan’s kicker kicked a field goal to put them up 13-10. Michigan ended up winning and pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the rivalry.
Why does this matter? In the moments after the game, the heated rivalry was taken to another level when Michigan players attempted to plant a Michigan flag in the middle of the field.
The Ohio State players took offense to this action and attempted to rescue what was left of the dignity of the University, and created a brawl. This incident led to players crying because of the use of pepper spray in an attempt to break the fight up.
However, this incident was not unique, as we also saw it when North Carolina State beat North Carolina.
It also happened when Florida beat Florida State.
In the past, ‘flag plantings’ were a blip in college football. The players played their hearts out in the four quarters of the game and did not often fight in the aftermath, however, these incidents have become more and more common. In the past couple of years, numerous brawls have broken out.
In 2024, maybe the wide restructuring of conferences as well as the new playoff format is adding to the tension?
Rankings as of 12/6/24
All of these fights leave the question: Is this the future of College Football?
