Ohio State has escaped punishment after some of its fans threw water bottles onto the field during Saturday’s narrow victory over Nebraska.
Bottles were thrown onto the field late in the fourth quarter after a disputed targeting call against the Buckeyes was upheld. The Cornhuskers were trailing 21-17 inside the final four minutes at Ohio Stadium when Jahmal Banks ate a big hit from Arvell Reese, prompting a flag for targeting.
The decision was upheld on replay review, giving the Huskers a new set of downs and sparking a furious outburst from Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day. The Big Ten admitted after the game a mistake had been made, and fans raged at the decision, with some at the south end of the stadium tossing bottles onto the field.
They were urged to stop by the public address announcer and Nebraska’s players were taken to the center of the field as a precaution, causing a short delay. But the school will not be punished, with the Big Ten deeming it acted appropriately in response to the actions of a small minority of spectators.
“All Big Ten institutions are expected to adhere to the policies and procedures within the Big Ten Football Game Management Manual,” the Big Ten said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch.
“The security and protection of student-athletes, officials, coaches and staff is of utmost importance. The conference is confident that Ohio State staff properly handled the situation on Saturday and will have no additional comment.”
The No. 4 Buckeyes (6-1) held on for victory, keeping hopes of a College Football Playoff berth alive ahead of Saturday’s crunch showdown with No. 3 Penn State.
But the situation left a sour taste in the mouth of Nebraska’s star freshman quarterback, Dylan Raiola. He said: “The bottles being thrown, it kind of feels like it disrespects football and just the nature of it. But it happened, and we had to get away from it.”
Head coach Matt Rhule, however, was not fussed by the fans’ actions, insisting he embraced the hostility. “They told us to come to the middle of the field because they were throwing bottles,” he said. “But trust me, I’m from Philly. I’m all for all that. That doesn’t bother me. I just got the guys to the middle and said, ‘Let’s go.'”
Saturday’s unsavory scenes were not the first time bottles had been thrown onto the field at a high-profile college football game this season. Texas was fined $250,000 by the SEC and ordered to suspend fans who threw bottles onto the field during the 30-15 loss to Georgia earlier this month. The school was also told to assess its alcohol sales policies.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey came down hard on the Longhorns in a statement. He said: “The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that took place cannot be part of any SEC event.
The SEC is assigned responsibility by its membership to enforce its sportsmanship and game management policies and these actions are consistent with that oversight responsibility, including the financial penalty and mandated reviews.
Leave a Reply