The Ohio State Buckeyes upset the Oregon Ducks to win the the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night.
Celebrations over the big win got so intense that a SWAT team was called in and police used pepper spray on groups of people on campus.
Once the game ended, thousands of fans reportedly came streaming out of bars, campus buildings, and the student union, The Columbus Dispatch reports. Cops started intervening once people began blocking North High Street, a major thoroughfare near campus.
This is what the scene looked like after the game ended:
Students completely block traffic on N. High Street in front of Student Union pic.twitter.com/LQSeOB4nPu
— Josh Jarman (@Josh_Jarman) January 13, 2015Buckeye fans have taken over High St despite the pepper spray pic.twitter.com/AR48ntHDd5
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015High Street party #gobucks pic.twitter.com/cwPTtW6D7Z
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015More High Street mayhem #gobucks pic.twitter.com/4lmde8jx1k
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015SWAT team is here, some with gas masks on pic.twitter.com/KpkZPAI5Pf
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015SWAT team is warning people to clear the street or they'll be gassed pic.twitter.com/YkLEBYPUHG
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015Many revelers stayed on High Street despite the tear gas, and the situation quickly got out of hand:
And minutes later students fill back in as gas disperses. We're going to be here for a while, people.
— Josh Jarman (@Josh_Jarman) January 13, 2015Just saw an officer pepper spray a guy at point-blank range in the face when he was already on his knees in pain
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015Tear gas deployed on High St pic.twitter.com/OOhJG8tYUr
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015Now officers are pepper spraying people off High Street sidewalks
— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) January 13, 2015Now they're setting off fireworks on 13th Ave.
— Josh Jarman (@Josh_Jarman) January 13, 2015Kid near me coughing until he nearly pukes. Tear gas is for real, guys.
— Josh Jarman (@Josh_Jarman) January 13, 2015Some people lit fires and stormed the Ohio State stadium (which is not where the game was):
Lots of people near Ohio Stadium pic.twitter.com/DSdTQqasyO
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) January 13, 2015Mirror Lake frozen... Students actually just climbed the gates at The Shoe. Told goal posts are already down. pic.twitter.com/zLCi1yBs8i
— Kaylee Hartung (@KayleeHartung) January 13, 2015Campus police had to resort to pepper spraying students trying to force gates of The Shoe open. Kids flushing eyes with snow.
— Kaylee Hartung (@KayleeHartung) January 13, 2015Dumpster on fire earlier in an alley between Lane and Norwich/Tuller and Waldeck (Alex Dummer / Oller reporter) pic.twitter.com/pIE1HYHKED
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) January 13, 2015Police were eventually successful in clearing the area, but the crowds were initially very persistent with staying on the street.
SWAT teams resorted to releasing canisters of tear gas to disperse the partiers, and at first people kept coming back even after the gas was released, according to Dispatch reporter Josh Jarman. Authorities releasing more tear gas canisters in rapid succession on the student union lawn eventually cleared everyone out.
