Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and Michigan State defensive end Anthony Jones pushed and shoved each other, leading to a fight as the final seconds of the game ticked away on Saturday night.
“It was heat-of-the-moment type stuff,” Loveland said during a postgame news conference after the Wolverines won 24-17.
Loveland may have calmed down after speaking with the Big Ten Network.
“Lil bro stay doing little bro things,” Loveland told BTN on the field. “So, MSU is the little bro. They can do whatever they want. 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.”
Quarterback Davis Warren took a knee to let the clock run out while Loveland and Jones got tangled up.
Michigan players rushed in from the nearby sideline to join the fight, and Michigan State players quickly joined as well.
“I told the team that was unacceptable,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said.
Michigan State’s coach Jonathan Smith also expressed disappointment.
“You don’t love finishing kind of that way,” Smith said.
The last time these teams faced each other at the Big House two years ago, a brawl occurred in the tunnel, with Spartans hitting and kicking Michigan players and using a helmet as a weapon.
Seven Michigan State players were later charged with crimes, and the Big Ten fined the school $100,000. Michigan was also reprimanded for not providing enough protection for both home and visiting teams when entering and leaving the venue.
