WATCH: Michigan, Ohio State nearly brawl in stadium tunnel
Tensions are high in Michigan Stadium, as expected for the annual Michigan-Ohio State rivalry game. This year, though, the stakes are spiked, as 10-1 Ohio State ranks No. 2 in the country and looks to hold its spot in the College Football Playoff, while the Michigan Wolverines, now 10-1 and ranked No. 5, look to spoil their rivals’ run.
Evidently, more postseason implications means more hostility, too. Michigan jumped out to a 14-13 lead over the visiting Buckeyes on Saturday, and as the teams left the field for their respective locker rooms at halftime, it appears as though they had to be held back from a potential fight in the tunnel.
In a video posted to Twitter, the entire Ohio State and Michigan rosters are jarring at one another and separated by a mere few feet; the only thing standing between them are a line of coaches and support staff, as well as a handful of game officials. Though the choice words are nearly impossible to make out, the yelling doesn’t seem to stop, and players on both sides are gesturing their middle fingers to the other team.
Michigan went into halftime with a 14-13 lead over Ohio State, marking just the third time the Wolverines led the Buckeyes at halftime since 2004. In each of the other two instances, Michigan ultimately blew the lead and lost the game; in 2012, the Wolverines blew a 21-20 lead and lost 26-21, and more recently in 2016, Michigan led 10-7 only to lose 30-27. It also marks the first time that Ohio State trailed a team by halftime since Week 2 against Oregon, the Buckeyes’ only loss of the season.
Jim Harbaugh has Michigan off to its best season since he took over in 2015. The Wolverines have only amassed 10 wins three times since then, and the Wolverines have already notched a 10-win season with rivalry week and postseason play still on tap.
Ohio State currently has a 61 percent chance of making it to the College Football Playoff, per ESPN. Should Ohio State lose to Michigan, it will lose its only chance of making it to the Big Ten Championship game — as a result, ESPN projects that the Buckeyes’ odds of making the College Football Playoff would drop down to 16 percent.