College football: Flag planting has become trend in rivalry wins

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks admits it was his idea for teammate George Gumbs to plant a Gators flag on Florida State's logo following a victory at Doak Campbell Stadium last year. "It was amazing," Banks quipped. It sparked a postgame skirmish and a terse exchange between Florida State coach Mike Norvell and then-Florida coach Billy Napier, who later apologized "on behalf of the entire organization in terms of how we represented the university" and vowed that "we won't do that moving forward." The Seminoles, though, surely haven't forgotten and could have payback in mind when the in-state rivals meet — this time in the Swamp — with little at stake for the second consecutive year. "Yeah, I've been talking about that," Banks said this week. "We can't let nobody come in our house and do that, honestly." Teams across the country surely feel the same. Coaches, players, administrators and maybe even security will be on high alert in hopes of dissuading or even preventing flag plantings that wreaked havoc during rivalry week in 2024. Michigan and Ohio State players scuffled after a group of Wolverines attempted to plant their flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium following a 13-10 victory. Similar scenes played out in North Carolina and Arizona. "We've been pretty good about any postgame interactions," Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. "When we win a game or when you end a game, we're going to go to our student section and go to our band and shake hands, cordial, cordial ending and be done with it. And that's it. So our guys have been good about that, and we'll continue to do that." Will No. 1 Ohio State be as affable if the Buckeyes beat the 15th-ranked Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday? "We're just going to talk about how we handle ourselves on and off the field to make sure everybody is prepared," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. Few seemed to anticipate all the flag planting that occurred last year. Current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield gained notoriety in 2017 for planting an Oklahoma flag at midfield of Ohio State's stadium following the Sooners' road victory. Seven years later, it became a trend. Following N.C. State's victory in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, last season, Tar Heels receiver J.J. Jones grabbed a Wolfpack flag from opponents attempting to plant it and hurled it away before getting into a shoving match. "It is what it is," Tar Heels offensive lineman Austin Blaske said. "It happened. It happened in the past, try not to think about that. Just try to worry about playing football this weekend and just winning the game. I think that's what we're focused on right now." Added UNC receiver Kobe Paysour: "This is definitely a rivalry game, but it's more about keeping your emotions intact and keeping your composure." The Arizona State-Arizona confrontation last year came with a twist: it wasn't a flag but a trident that Arizona State defensive lineman Jacob Rich Kongaika tried to plant in the middle of Arizona's logo following a 49-7 win. Kongaika, an Arizona transfer, held on as Arizona receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig tried to take the trident away, and the duo was surrounded by players from each school. "It's passion over emotion," Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said. "If you make an emotional decision, most of the time it's stupid and wrong. If you make a passionate decision, it means you put a commitment and you made a commitment to make that choice. We can't be full of emotion — and there will be a ton of emotion, all the way from the warmups. That's how it is." Florida's angst in Tallahassee a year ago stemmed from a 2023 loss to FSU in Gainesville. Seminoles running back Trey Benson and defensive end Jared Verse used scissors to cut up a chunk of Florida's orange-painted end zone as a souvenir to display in the team's famed "Sod Cemetery." "That was something that's been ingrained in our minds for a long time," Florida left tackle Austin Barber said. The Seminoles are sure to do it again if they win Saturday. And no one would be surprised to see their flag planted into the Gators head at midfield. "We don't need them planting no flags on our field," Banks said. "So we're going to go out there and handle business for sure."