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Sorting Out the Brawl That Broke Out Between Michigan and Ohio State After The Game

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1 year ago

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Sorting Out the Brawl That Broke Out Between Michigan and Ohio State After The Game


Unraveling the ugliness that unfolded after Michigan defeated Ohio State for the fourth straight year is as convoluted as the reasons for the outcome of The Game.

During a melancholy Carmen Ohio, Michigan players gathered around midfield and attempted to plant a team flag at the 50-yard line. Ohio State players heard cheers from Michigan fans, turned to see what was unfolding, and ran to meet the Michigan players, arriving just after the flag was stabbed into the ground. A melee ensued.

“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know that these guys are looking to put a flag on our field, and our guys weren’t going to let that happen,” Ryan Day said after the game. “I’ll find out exactly what happened, but this is our field. And certainly, we’re embarrassed at the fact that we lost the game, but there’s some prideful guys on this team that weren’t just going to let that happen.”

Several individual altercations can be seen in the mass of bodies at midfield. Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain (No. 18) stepped into a crowd of Michigan players and started throwing punches, then got punched himself and slammed to the ground by Michigan defensive end Cameron Brandt (91) with assistance from defensive tackle Kenneth Grant (78). Grant and Ohio State linebacker Gabe Powers (36) then grabbed at each other as Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun (1) struck at Grant. Ohio State defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44) followed to get involved in the shoving between McClain and Brandt, but was held back by tight end Patrick Gurd (49).

Ohio State cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. (3) was standing in a mass of players on the Michigan side when the altercation started, and got shoved toward the middle by Michigan defensive back Brandyn Hillman (6) with a melee following. Styles exchanged blows with Michigan defensive back Quinten Johnson (28) and running back Bryson Kudzdal (41). Johnson shoved Styles backward as an Ohio State staffer tried to break them up.

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Michigan defensive back Jyaire Hill (35) grabbed a Gatorade bottle and threw it at McClain, hitting an Ohio State staffer in the head, then grabbed Styles by his nameplate and slammed him to the turf from behind. Ohio State tight end Bennett Christian (85) stepped in and delivered a punch to Johnson’s gut.

Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom (8) was pulled into a pile of Michigan players. Ohio State defensive tackle Eric Mensah (90) tried to step in and help, but he was shoved and pulled away by Michigan offensive lineman Raheem Anderson (62). Michigan defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny (26) leaped over the pile pinning Ransom down and threw a punch at Mensah but missed. Anderson pulled Mensah to the ground, exchanged jabs with an Ohio State staffer and backed away.

Ohio State and Michigan police officers arrived to try and break the brawl up, with help from additional local law enforcement. After both sides stayed at each other’s throats, throwing shoves and punches, officers deployed pepper spray on both sides.

Ohio State police released the following statement via X after the game:

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“Following the game, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up an on-field altercation. During the scuffle, multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray. OSUPD is the lead agency for games & will continue to investigate.”

The initial and main fight at midfield wasn’t the only one to break out. Several other skirmishes erupted about the field. Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore took the Block M flag and started parading it about the field looking to plant it again, but Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer ripped it from its staff. Cornerback Davison Igbinosun tried to collect it but Michigan staffer Jason Avant tucked it away and held onto it. More shoving and fighting followed.

Safety Brenten Jones (No. 32) and quarterback Devin Brown (33) led a crowd of Buckeyes who fought with Moore before Ohio State defensive end Dominic Kirks (55) shoved him back toward Michigan’s side, then Hillman (6) stepped in and threw a punch at Kirks. The altercation was at last broken up with help from Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles (6) and a few Michigan players including defensive back Zeke Berry (10). 

Michigan linebacker Jason Hewlett (44) can also be seen throwing a punch at Kirks as he surged into Michigan coaches and players. Ohio State cornerback Dianté Griffin (43) and Michigan defensive end Kechaun Bennett (52) grabbed each other’s jerseys and began to throw punches as they shoved back and forth.

Ohio State’s players stayed mum about the topic, as is probably advised. Quarterback Will Howard declined to comment, while linebacker Cody Simon said he didn’t see much of anything. 

“I heard the commotion late,” Simon said. “I ran in there. We want to stay together as a team. I don’t want to focus on anything about that. Just focusing on trying to regroup and we know there’s more season left for us.”

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Michigan coach Sherrone Moore understood the emotions that started the brawl but didn’t condone the actions. He also took some responsibility for his team’s role in it.

“It was emotions on both sides,” Moore said. “I did see they had the flag and guys were waving it around, then their guys charged at us. There was emotion on both sides, (that) can’t happen. Rivalry games get heated, especially this one, it’s the biggest one in the country. So we’ve got to handle that better.”

On the field there was a mix of reactions. Some players knelt to pray.

Day simply looked on, shocked and stoic.

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The Big Ten and NCAA have not yet released any statements regarding the altercation or potential punishments.





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Michigan football signs former No. 1-ranked running back

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7 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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Michigan football signs former No. 1-ranked running back


Michigan football moved quickly to help fill its running back room on Thursday, adding the No. 1-ranked rusher in the 2024 recruiting class to the roster.

Taylor Tatum, who spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma, signed with the Wolverines for the 2026 season, The Ann Arbor News/MLive confirmed.

Tatum, listed at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, has three seasons of college eligibility remaining.

He appeared in 12 games for the Sooners, most of it during his true-freshman season in 2024. That first season, Tatum rushed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a five-carry, 69-yard game in Oklahoma’s season opener against Temple.

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Tatum was hampered by injuries in 2025, appearing in just one game against South Carolina, where he rushed once for negative-1 yard.

A former four-star recruit, Tatum was considered the nation’s No. 1 running back in 2024 out of Longview High School in Texas, where he set the school record for career rushing touchdowns (53). He picked Oklahoma over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, USC, among others.

Tatum was also a member of the Oklahoma baseball team, though he didn’t appear in a game in 2025.

The signing comes just a day after Michigan’s leading rusher in 2025, Jordan Marshall, announced his return to the Wolverines. Since the transfer portal opened last Friday, reserve running backs Bryson Kuzdzal and Jasper Parker have entered. Parker has since signed to play at Arkansas next season.

Meanwhile, Michigan awaits a decision from its other star back, Justice Haynes, who’s left the door open to a return to college. A pair of freshmen backs, Savion Hiter and Jonathan Brown, also joined the team this week.

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Tony Alford, Michigan’s running backs coach, was one of three assistants retained by new head coach Kyle Whittingham.



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Kyle Whittingham knows what Michigan football needs

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20 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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Kyle Whittingham knows what Michigan football needs


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Michigan football is primed to win now, new coach Kyle Whittingham said this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”

The Wolverines have made far too many headlines off the field, which is why Whittingham told Patrick the organization needs to simply get back to focusing on the reason they’re all together as a team − football.

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“The place doesn’t need a rebuild, it needs a reboot of trust and getting rid of the drama and just get back to playing Michigan football without all the distractions,” Whittingham said. “It didn’t come from the players. The players were not involved. It was not some player issue – it was just the peripheral.

“Guys here have a great attitude, I met with everyone of them last week at the bowl site. Quality young men, care about academics, excited to be at Michigan, but they’ve dealt with a lot over the last few years.”

Whittingham, 66, takes over as the 22nd head coach in program history after a pair of scandals rocked the previous two men who held his job.

Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines from 2015-23 − and left on top by winning a national championship − but also was found to have a lack of institutional control in his program by NCAA investigators after two separate NCAA violations occurred under his watch: impermissible recruiting and illegal sign-stealing.

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More recently, Sherrone Moore was fired in scandal after he was found to have had a relationship with a subordinate and was subsequently arrested after he allegedly went to her house and threatened his own life − he was jailed for two nights and charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.

INVESTIGATION: Tears and tantrums: How Michigan’s culture melted under Sherrone Moore

Patrick asked if there was any selling point Whittingham needed to hear specifically from Michigan. Whittingham said when he stepped away from Utah in mid-December there were only a handful of program’s he would have even entertained. He called Michigan “a special place.”

“Needed to hear that Michigan was what I thought it was,” he said. “Hey’re committed to winning here, we do have some challenges with entrance requirements, there is a little bit of a hurdle there, but talk about athletes, resources, tradition − it’s all here at Michigan.”

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Whittingham also quipped about the irony of previously being a team that wore red (Utah) whose primary rival wore blue (BYU) to flipping that. It’s also not lost on him that his mentor, Urban Meyer, went 7-0 against Michigan in his tenure in Columbus − Whittingham joked at his opening press conference that Meyer’s name alone might be considered a “four-letter word” in Ann Arbor.

“Blue was our rival at Utah for years,” he said. “Now I’ve got to get used to saying, ‘Go Blue.’”

Whittingham is in the throes of one of the busiest times on the college football calendar. The transfer portal opened for a 15-day window Jan. 2-16, setting off a scramble to both retain players, scout the database and find appropriate fits for the team.

Whittingham has only known his roster and coaches for approximately 10 days – he said while down in Florida he was going to “lock himself” in a room at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor to watch film on the players on his roster. He has been able to keep Bryce Underwood, Andrew Marsh, Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier, Evan Link, Jake Guarnera and Zeke Berry − the last two of whom had put their names in the transfer portal before indicating their return to U-M for 2026.

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With money flowing, back-channeling frequent and poaching at an all-time high, Whittingham doesn’t see college football’s current model as something that will last as currently constructed for more than a handful of years.

“It is not sustainable, there’s no question about that,” Whittingham said. “Something’s gotta give. Within a 2- to 4-, 5-year window, you’re going to see a major overhaul of Division I football. I think it’s going to become more of a minor league NFL model. I think you’re gonna see a salary cap, collective bargaining, players as employees.

“I think all that’s coming because we cannot maintain this pace.”

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.





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Michigan Lottery contributions over $1B to K-12 schools for 7th year in a row, state says

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January 7, 2026

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Michigan Lottery contributions over B to K-12 schools for 7th year in a row, state says


LANSING, MI – The Michigan Lottery’s annual contribution to K-12 education reached more than $1 billion for the seventh time in a row in 2025, according to the state.

The amount at $1.16 billion makes up roughly 5-6% of the state’s School Aid Fund, which has exceeded $20 billion in recent years.

It peaked in 2021 at $1.4 billion, according to the state budget office, marking a 78.4% increase in six years at the time. The reported portion for 2025 marks a slight decrease when compared to the previous five years.

In a release on Wednesday, Jan. 7, the state reported the total Lottery contribution had reached more than $30 billion since it began in 1972 and $8.7 billion within a seven-year span.

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“In (2025), Lottery retailers earned more than $300 million in commissions for the sixth straight year,” Acting Lottery Commissioner Joe Froehlich said in a statement. “The support the Lottery provides to public education and to businesses throughout the state is critical and far-reaching.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office utilized Wednesday’s announcement to recap the current state investment in K-12 schools based on the budget deal lawmakers green-lit in October three months after the current fiscal year was already underway.

That includes a 4.6% hike to $10,050 per student, $201.6 million to maintain a free universal meals program that Whitmer said saves “parents almost $1,000 a year per kid,” and a series of investments geared toward boosting literacy skills.

“This year’s lottery contributions will help build on that progress and make a difference for students, educators and schools across Michigan,” the governor said in a statement.

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Other budget highlights included hundreds of millions in grants to reduce class sizes and school infrastructure, as well as for career-technical education and English-language learners.

Additionally, there was another $258.7 million boost to $1.3 billion for at-risk student supports and $321 million to support mental health and school safety initiatives ― the latter including a waiver requirement that spurred litigation from schools against the state in late 2025.

According to the Michigan Lottery, participating retailers earned more than $330 million in commissions for the 2025 fiscal year. Since 2019, when the Lottery’s streak of billion-dollar contributions to the School Aid Fund began, the state reported more than $2.3 billion in commissions.

Lottery products are sold at more than 10,000 locations across the state, and over 700 retailers sold $1 million or more last year in Lottery games.

Michigan residents took home more than $2.8 billion in prizes in 2025 and over $58 billion since the Lottery began.

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According to the state, roughly 25 cents went to the School Aid Fund from every dollar spent on a Michigan Lottery Ticket, while 63 cents went to players as prizes, 9 cents to vendor commissions and 3 cents to the Lottery’s operations.



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