Jack Sawyer Michigan flag controversy: Revisiting the rivalry loss that sparked Ohio State's title run

Dan Treacy

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Jack Sawyer Michigan flag controversy: Revisiting the rivalry loss that sparked Ohio State's title run image

Ohio State's upset loss to Michigan on rivalry weekend looked like the unofficial end of Ryan Day's tenure with the Buckeyes. Under the previous playoff format, it might have been the official end.

The expanded format gave Day's talented team a second chance, however, and Ohio State has made the most of it. The Buckeyes are one win away from their first national championship in a decade after rolling past Tennessee, Oregon, and Texas, and they enter Monday's title game as decisive favorites over Notre Dame.

The loss to Michigan might go down as an all-time turning point for Ohio State, even if the scene was ugly in the moment.

Here's a look back at the brawl that developed at the end of that game and why Cotton Bowl star Jack Sawyer was at the center of it.

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Jack Sawyer Michigan flag video

When Michigan tried to plant its flag at midfield after its win in Columbus, Sawyer stepped in, ripped the flag away from Wolverines players, and threw it to the ground.

What did Jack Sawyer do?

Sawyer erupted after Ohio State's stunning loss to Michigan in November, ripping the Michigan flag from Wolverines players and tossing it to the ground. Sawyer was visibly enraged, screaming on the field as a brawl ensued between the two rivals.

"They're not f— planting a flag on our field again, bro!" Sawyer told an Ohio State assistant after the melee. 

The flag dispute turned into a major fracas that ended when police intervened and pepper-sprayed some of the players involved. In hindsight, it isn't hard to imagine why the game ended in a brawl. Ohio State had lost its past three games to Michigan, but it wasn't supposed to lose this game. The Buckeyes were favored by nearly 20 points at home in what was a down year for the Wolverines after their national championship season. 

Sawyer was part of all four losses. Four years at Ohio State, 0-4 against Michigan. The frustration bubbled up for Sawyer as soon as the final whistle sounded, but the playoff offered him a different way to get his frustration out. As Sawyer ran a Quinn Ewers fumble all the way back to the opposite end zone during the Cotton Bowl, that last bit of anger seemed to leave his shoulders.

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Ohio State loss to Michigan

Michigan had Ohio State's number between 2021 and 2023, winning three straight against the program's biggest rival after eight years of disappointment. This was supposed to be the season the trend changed.

Ohio State looked like the better team throughout the year and was playing at home against a Michigan team that already had losses to Illinois and Washington, among others, on its record. 

Oddsmakers agreed, as the Buckeyes went into the contest as nearly 20-point favorites. 

Michigan's offense had a rough day in Columbus, but timing is everything. The Wolverines intercepted Will Howard mere yards from their own goal line in the second quarter and quickly punched it in for a touchdown. In the third quarter, when it looked like Ohio State was set to take the lead one way or another, Howard was intercepted again.

Michigan never found the end zone again after the second quarter score, but the running game finally wore down the Buckeyes' defense enough to go deep into the red zone and set up the go-ahead field goal with less than a minute remaining.

Ohio State's second-half drives ended in two punts, an interception, a missed field goal, and a turnover on downs. Michigan's defense never broke, and Buckeyes fans complained that their offense just wasn't aggressive enough despite boasting an excellent receiving corps. 

The loss seems even more unbelievable with three playoff games in the rear-view mirror for Ohio State. How could a Michigan team that found it virtually impossible to move the ball through the air win on the road against an Ohio State team that made Oregon's secondary look totally lost just a month later?

Whether it was a lack of aggressiveness, the pressure of a rivalry game or just a bad day for Howard, Ohio State has taken the loss and used it to morph back into the championship-caliber team it always was on paper. The Buckeyes can finish the job on Monday. 

MORE: Four easy fixes for the College Football Playoff format

Ryan Day criticizes Michigan flag plant

Day defended his players after the postgame brawl in Columbus, telling reporters, "I know that these guys are looking to put a flag on our field, and our guys weren't going to let that happen."

While no one wanted to see a brawl that ended with players pepper-sprayed, there was little regret from Ohio State when it came to the idea of taking Michigan's flag away. One Ohio lawmaker even proposed making flag-planting a felony at Ohio Stadium, though the proposal was widely mocked. 

Some fans responded to Ohio State's outrage with a clear message: if you don't want Michigan to plant its flag, simply don't lose at home. The Buckeyes found an even better way to get their frustration out, winning three straight to reach the national championship game, but a win in Ann Arbor next season could be the sweetest of them all after what transpired this season. 

Dan Treacy

Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.