CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – College football was dominated by flags on Saturday. Not the ones thrown by officials — the ones planted by players in the middle of the field.
One of these instances occurred at the conclusion of the rivalry football game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
After winning 35-30 over UNC in dramatic fashion, at least one N.C. State player tried to plant a Wolfpack flag on the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill. This immediately resulted in a scuffle involving several players on both teams.
CBS 17 crews captured the chaos unfolding on camera as the fight broke out.
N.C. State defensive end Davin Vann grabbed a flag from one of the cheerleaders, then made his way towards midfield with hopes of pinning the flag. UNC wide receiver JJ Jones then sprinted into the massive influx of Wolfpack players, took the flag, before running to the visitor sideline and tossing it away.
Wolfpack safety DK Kaufman and offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak confronted Jones and shoved him, which led to a large brawl among the two squads at midfield, with even a few punches being thrown.
Eventually, Vann succeeded in placing the flag at midfield and then gave it back to the cheerleaders.
N.C. State athletics director Boo Corrigan and UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham released the following joint statement regarding Saturday’s brawl:
We’re disappointed by the conduct of some members of our football programs at the conclusion of our game on Saturday at Kenan Stadium. While the game was emotional and the Carolina-NC State rivalry is intense, we must always display good sportsmanship and represent our universities and the Atlantic Coast Conference with respect. We will address this incident with our respective teams.
The Wolfpack defeated their in-state rivals to clinch bowl eligibility for the 10th time in the last 11 years.
This game also marked the end of UNC head coach Mack Brown’s tenure as the leader of the Tar Heels program. It comes four days after the university announced it was making a change and that Brown wouldn’t return, even after the winningest coach in program history had said he planned to be back in 2025 a day earlier.
Saturday’s postgame skirmish occurred as UNC posted a thank you to Mack and wife Sally Brown on the video board before the teams headed to opposite tunnels — with Wolfpack players celebrating in front of their fans and even doing somersaults while the Tar Heels headed somberly to their locker room.
Other similar flag-planting celebrations caused controversy across the country on Saturday, including the Michigan-Ohio State and Florida-Florida State games. The incident at Ohio State ended with police using pepper spray to deescalate the conflict and separate the players.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report