Mascot On Mascot Violence At Ohio State (UPDATE: Brutus Speaks)

Ohio's Rufus Bobcat was lying in wait for Brutus Buckeye as he led OSU onto the field. A little harmless(?) mascot fun escalated to the point where security had to escort a man in a big foam suit off the field.

Things to watch for: Rufus's head flying off with his first failed tackle, and a last-ditch nutshot before security separates them.

I love mascot fights. My freshman year, Hooter the Owl showed up rowdy (drunk, was the rumor) to the Syracuse game, and would end up getting ejected after tackling the Orange and rolling him around the field.

Also of note: Rufus Bobcat's missed tackle was probably the best of the day for Ohio, who lost 43-7.

UPDATE: We were tipped off to a message board where the OSU student who plays Brutus Buckeye is a frequent poster. Here's his take on the rumble:

I figured someone would mention this, and yes it was me that was Brutus during this. I'm only going to comment on this once so here's the story.

Basically myself and another cheerleader were running the flag like any other game leading the team out onto the field. All of a sudden I see the bobcat running at me. Obviously at first I was very confused and then realized that he was going to try and tackle me. As he went to tackle me, I lowered my shoulder and sent him to the ground and his head popped off (the pinnacle of mascot embarrassment). I then figured that was over with so I started to walk towards the endzone and was firing up the crowd. All of a sudden I feel someone jump on my back....it was the bobcat. He starts legit punching me so I jump and fall back on my back so that I land on him. He keeps punching so I throw him off of me and walk away.

It wasn't planned and he almost got thrown out of the game. A lot of people asked why I didn't wail on him and my response is not only did I not want that to be my last game (Big 10 has VERY strict rules in regards to mascot fights) but I didn't want the bobcat and OU to make headlines off of Brutus' name and fame. After the first two OSU touchdowns I decided to exact my revenge with a little more class by waving the flag directly in his face and repeatedly pointing to the scoreboard.....and that's all I have to say about that.

DOUBLE UPDATE: OU has apologized for the conduct of their Bobcat, and has banned that student from any further team activities.

What Was Rufus Bobcat Thinking? [Bucknuts]