College Football World Reacts After Michigan Players Spit On, Pepper Sprayed in Intense Rivalry Game

Rivalry games by their very nature are designed to be intense. Emotions run hot for fans and players alike. Often, that emotion spills out beyond the confines of the game as appeared to happen when Michigan and Ohio State met to close out the 2024 regular season.

The annual meeting of 'The Game' this season from Ohio Stadium in Columbus saw the Wolverines pull off an improbable upset in a low scoring affair winning 13-10 and throwing a serious monkey wrench into Ohio State's postseason plans.

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As much as the final score, the 2024 Michigan-Ohio State game may well be best remembered for two disturbing incidents that book-ended the game.

Michigan Wolverine Players Spit on at Ohio Stadium

As the team was set to take the field, a photo blogger captured what appears to be an Ohio State fan spitting on Michigan players as they took the field.

See the photo on X.

It's an act that goes beyond spirited rivalry as the Ohio State fan social media account Buckeye Blitz shares:

We don’t claim him

The judgement of the college football world was swift and unanimous - not only does that kind of act have no business in the world of sports or life in general, the fan should face banishment from Ohio Stadium.

READ MORE: The Home Stadium of Michigan's Biggest Rival - Hometown Paper Called it a 'Morgue'

Michigan Wolverine Players Pepper Sprayed During Post Game Fight with Ohio State

The other disturbing moment from The Game is the post game brawl. Where does the blame start? Some will point the finger squarely at the Michigan sidelines as Wolverine players planted a U of M flag at midfield of Ohio Stadium.

While the act will ignite tensions after the tough loss, even more incendiary for Ohio State Buckeye players is the flag planting was done during the playing of the OSU Alma Mater as captured by Columbus TV station WBNS.

A caution - this is raw video with some NSFW language.

A higher level view of the aftermath was captured by the Detroit Free Press.

There has been on-field video that appears to show pepper spray deployed as police are asking Wolverine players to step back.

Michigan players are shown with what appears to be the aftermath of pepper spray deployment.