Week 14 is one of the biggest weeks in college football. Nov. 12 was a day full of conference championships and College Football Playoff berth ramifications. This day of college football was something — full of fights and upsets. Being a sports fan becomes questionable when you watch your favorite team lose.
Knowing how to act in either situation is very important.
Odds are, if you watched college football on Saturday, you tuned into the Ohio State versus Michigan game. The Michigan Wolverines are your defending College Football National Champions after they won big against Alabama last season. While the Ohio State Buckeyes came into the matchup 10-1, their loss suffered to Oregon, the top-ranked team in the Big Ten standings.
Michigan came out on top with a 13-10 win over Ohio State. Post-game, the Wolverines tried to plant their team’s flag directly in the center of Ohio State’s field. A fight and complete chaos broke out. The fight ended with law enforcement tearing apart the crowd after using force and pepper spray to remove players, coaches, and staff from center field.
As the next college football game started, Alabama versus Auburn, we saw Alabama defensive back DeVonta Smith caught in a brawl with KeAndre Lambert-Smith after a pass fell incomplete. This drew contact on the Auburn sideline and at least one punch was thrown.
Following that game, the North Carolina State (NC State) versus the University of North Carolina (UNC) happened. NC State beat UNC 35-30 and decided to follow Michigan’s lead.
NC State Safety DK Kaufman tried to plant the flag midfield, but UNC wide receiver JJ Jones retrieved the flag and threw it back at the wolfpack. Of course, a brawl broke out between both teams, and UNC refused to leave the field until it was cleared.
Yet the teams seemingly never learned. The Florida versus Florida State game ended with another flag-posting midfield. Florida took home the win 31-11 over Florida State and the Gator’s edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. planted the flag, immediately sparking shoving between both teams.
Arizona State planted their trident following a 49-7 win over Arizona. It was immediately ripped out by Arizona’s Wide Receiver and players continued to argue over the situation. The drama finally concluded with 2 ejections in the Bringham Young University, mostly known as BYU 30-18 win over Houston.
BYU Quarterback Jake Retzlaff dove into the endzone for a touchdown and Houston Tight End Mata’ava Ta’ase tried to pull him off of the grass. A fight occurred and both BYU receiver Darius Lassiter and Houston defensive back A.J. Haulcy were penalized.
The main question appears to be, “Did Michigan set the precedent here?” Considering they were the first to take action that day, it was blasted by the media. We do have to think about the odds of all of the teams going into their game with the mindset set to plant their flag if they win.
Sure, it’s rivalry week, but does everyone have to do it? Or was this trending?
Most of the players were running off of adrenaline after a hard-fought game, but Michigan
gained the most attention with the way the players were handled.
What it comes down to is where we have to draw the line when it comes to right and wrong when celebrating. Rivalry or not, celebrating this way is disrespectful. The teams faced fines of up to $100,000, but this won’t affect the players directly, meaning it won’t prevent it from happening again. Taking the energy and effort from an out-of-line celebration and using it in the upcoming week will make the team look better overall and keep bystanders safe.
