The Michigan Wolverines’ victory over No. 2 Ohio State by a 13-10 score in the match, played on November 30, 2024, led to post-match mayhem that has gone viral. Derrick Moore, Michigan’s star defensive end, tried to plant a Wolverine flag on the field on Ohio State’s logo which led to the brawl.
This gesture angered most of the Ohio State players, provoking a nasty fight between the two teams. But who is Derrick Moore, the player in the middle of this most intense rivalry?
Derrick Moore, born on December 6, 2002, plays for the Michigan Wolverines as the defensive end. He played a vital role in helping Michigan clinch a national championship in 2023.
Early life, high school, and college career
Derrick Moore was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Saint Frances Academy, where he performed as a standout player. In his last year in high school, he was awarded the 2021 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year.
He registered 55 tackles, 24 of them for loss, besides 12 sacks. His contributions helped post an 8-1 team record and rank fifth nationally in the USA TODAY Super 25.
Moore was a sought-after prospect and initially pledged to Oklahoma but decided on Michigan after Lincoln Riley left. Similarly, in 2022, he stood as the 20th-best recruit according to ESPN.
Moore joined Michigan in January 2022, as a freshman. In total, he played 14 games where he made 8 tackles and 2 sacks. His first career sack was against Maryland.
As a Sophomore, Moore continued to do well; he played in all 15 games for the season and made 34 tackles and 5 sacks. His notable moment was the tackle on Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in the Rose Bowl game that aided Michigan clinch the national championship title.
In his junior year, Moore became a full-time starter for the Wolverines and was still able to make critical plays.
Recent incident
After Michigan defeated No. 2 Ohio State 13-10, there was a huge free-for-all-fight on the field on November 30, 2024. The scuffle started after Moore tried to plant a Michigan flag in the middle of the Ohio State logo to commemorate the victory.
This act aroused several Ohio State players, and what followed was a major escalation where both sides engaged in a punching spree.
The brawl started immediately when most of Ohio State’s players confronted Moore, leading to several fight instances. Police were involved and the crowds on the field were dispersed with pepper spray.
The encounter took about five minutes, after which some players were disoriented by the pepper spray.
After the game, the players and the coach were heated. Michigan running back Kalel Mullings condemned the post-match violence and said that such actions were wrong because it was tarnishing the potential of the sport. Mullings told CBS News:
"Just bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, some people got to learn how to lose, man. Can't be fighting and stuff just because you lost a game. All that fighting, we have 60 minutes, we have four quarters to do all that fighting and now you want to talk and fight. That's wrong. It's just bad for the game. Classless, in my opinion. People got to be better."
Ohio State's head coach Ryan Day also commented on the incident. He was quoted by ESPN stating:
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"I don't know all the details of it, but I know these guys are looking to put a flag on our field and our guys weren't going to let that happen".
"I'll find out exactly what happened. But this is our field and certainly, we're embarrassed of the fact that we lost the game, but there's some prideful guys in this team that weren't going to just let that happen."
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