Dominic Zvada kicked a 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left and Michigan stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday, likely ending the Buckeyes ’ hopes of returning to the Big Ten title game.
Late in the game, Kalel Mullings broke away for a 27-yard run, setting up the Wolverines (7-5, 5-4) at Ohio State’s 17-yard line with two minutes remaining. The drive stalled at the 3, and Zvada came on for the chip shot.
Ohio State (10-2, 7-2, No. 2 CFP) got the ball back but couldn’t move it, with Will Howard throwing incomplete on fourth down to seal the Wolverines’ fourth straight win over their bitter rival.
After the game, Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines’ flag and ripped it off the pole as the brawl moved toward the Michigan bench. Eventually, police officers rushed into the ugly scene.
The on-field brawl between the teams required the intervention of police with pepper spray.
A fight has broken out between Michigan and Ohio State after The Game pic.twitter.com/XPwdAjfYzN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
Ohio State police said in a statement “multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.” Ohio State police will investigate the fight, according to the statement.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said he understood the actions of his players.
“There are some prideful guys on our team who weren’t going to sit back and let that happen,” Day said.
The two Ohio State players made available after the game brushed off questions about it.
Michigan running back Kalel Mullings, who rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, didn’t like how the Buckeyes players involved themselves in the Wolverines’ postgame celebration. He called it “classless.”
Full Postgame Video from Columbus 〽️ #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/YE9vSPDmAH
— Michigan Football on UMGoBlue (@UMGoBlog) November 30, 2024
“For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game,” he said in an on-field interview with Fox Sports. “It’s just bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, you know some people got to — they got to learn how to lose, man. ... We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters, to do all that fighting.”
This loss might have been the toughest of those four for Ohio State because the Wolverines were unranked and were wrapping up a disappointing season. The Buckeyes were supposed to win, but records rarely mean much when these two teams meet.
Ohio State need No 4 Penn State and No 10 Indiana to lose later Saturday in order to make it into the Big Ten title game next week.
The Buckeyes were off all afternoon. Howard was 19 for 33 for 175 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and Jayden Fielding missed two field-goal attempts. The run game was hardly there.
Mullings was Michigan’s primary weapon. He rushed for 116 yards and the Wolverines only touchdown of the game in the first half as neither team could get much going offensively on the frigid afternoon.
Howard was clunky all day. In the first half he threw an interception from deep in his own territory that led to Michigan’s touchdown.
After the game, Michigan players attempted to plant their flag at midfield and were confronted by Ohio State players. A skirmish ensued as both teams pushed and shoved before being separated.
