ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State has had to watch Michigan plant a flag on its field the last two times The Game was played in Columbus. On Saturday, the Wolverines expected the Buckeyes to return the favor.
Several Michigan players stood at midfield after Ohio State’s 27-9 win in Ann Arbor. While it appeared some Buckeyes wanted to plant flags, Ohio State coach Ryan Day instructed his players not to do so.
Video surfaced postgame of Day telling Michigan coach Sherrone Moore to move his players toward the locker room before OSU went through the same tunnel.
When it appeared Moore was hesitant about moving because of what OSU might do, Day told the Michigan coach, “I’m not planting flags.”
“We didn’t know if they were going to or not,” Michigan running back Bryson Kuzdzal said postgame. “But if they were trying to, they were not going to.”
OSU has been on the other side of that action the last two times it hosted UM.
The Wolverines first did it in 2022 after a 45-23 win — their first in Columbus since 2000. Not much was made of that planting, but when it happened again in 2024, it incited a brawl led by former OSU captain Jack Sawyer, who refused to let Michigan repeat those antics.
That aftermath resulted in days of talking about the necessity of flag planting. Both teams were fined $100,000, and a bill was introduced to outlaw it.
