Michigan State has asked the Big Ten to look into a skirmish that broke out following the final play of Saturday’s game against Michigan, coach Jonathan Smith said Monday. Smith said his understanding was that the Big Ten was reviewing what happened following the final whistle of Michigan’s 24-17 victory as players and staffers from both programs converged at midfield.
Replays showed Michigan running back Kalel Mulling in what appeared to be a stomping motion, though nothing else was visible from the broadcast camera angles.
“I haven’t thoroughly looked at every angle and all of that,” Smith said. “It was a lot of bodies out there. My experience, and then learning yesterday, yes, we had a staff member that was in the fray of it and a player in the fray of it. That’s what we’re hoping they’re looking into.”
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said he hadn’t been contacted by the Big Ten and said he would address the situation internally. Moore didn’t comment on whether that could include possible suspensions and answered “no” when asked if he saw Mullings kick a staffer from Michigan State.
“That’s not how we represent the University of Michigan, the Block M or the winged helmet,” Moore said. “We’ll take care of that. That will never happen again.”
A Big Ten spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The skirmish began as Michigan State’s Anthony Jones and Michigan’s Colston Loveland began shoving after the Wolverines’ final kneel down. Jones shoved Loveland’s facemask and Loveland responded with a head butt, which prompted players from both teams to get involved. The teams were quickly separated and went to their respective locker rooms without further incident.
Loveland told reporters after the game that he “kind of got carried away” and attributed the skirmish to the heat of the moment. In a postgame interview with Big Ten Network, Loveland said, “We knew it was going to get chippy. Everything within the confines of the game we do right, and then after, if they want to get busy, we’ll get busy.”
Saturday’s game was the first meeting between the programs at Michigan Stadium since the 2022 incident in the stadium tunnel that resulted in criminal charges for seven Michigan State players. Michigan State was fined $100,000 by the Big Ten, and the seven players involved were suspended.
Michigan was given a public reprimand by the league for failing to provide adequate protection for both teams. Michigan has since changed its postgame procedures to ensure players from both teams aren’t in the stadium tunnel at the same time.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
