Players exchange punches at end of Michigan’s victory over ‘little bro’ MSU

Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and Michigan State defensive end Anthony Jones pushed, shoved and punched helmets, sparking a skirmish that saw the college rivals throw punches as the final seconds ticked off the clock on Saturday night.

“Little brother, keep doing little things,” Loveland told Big Ten Network on the court immediately after Michigan’s 24-17 victory. “So MSU is the little brother. They can do whatever they want. We knew it was going to be a mess. We do everything that falls within the boundaries of the game well. And then if they want to get started, we get to work.”

Loveland appeared to have cooled off by the time he spoke at the team’s post-game press conference.

“It was kind of the heat of the moment,” Loveland said of the incident.

The confrontations began after Michigan quarterback Davis Warren took a knee to expire the remaining time when Loveland and Jones tangled. Michigan players left the nearby sideline to join the scrum and MSU players rushed to the fray.

“I told the team this was unacceptable,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith said he was also disappointed. “You don’t like to finish like that,” Smith said. “I thought for the football game itself it was physical, I think the boys played really hard, and I thought it was a pretty clean game. It was hard to end this way.”

The last time the teams met in the Big House two years ago, a fight broke out in the tunnel with Spartans hitting, kicking and using a helmet to hit Michigan players. Seven Michigan State players were later charged with crimes and the Big Ten fined the school $100,000. Michigan was reprimanded for failing to provide adequate protection for personnel from both the home and visiting teams when entering and leaving the venue.