COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After 15 years, Brutus Buckeye finally got revenge on Rufus the Bobcat.
Brutus won a tug-of-war and 100 yard dash against the rival from Ohio University during the second quarter of Saturday night's game between the top-ranked Buckeyes and Bobcats.
This was the first football meeting between the schools since 2010, when Rufus went feral and tackled Brutus from behind in the end zone after Ohio State ran out on the field.
Rufus jumped Brutus from behind and then landed a couple
of punches to the head before both were separated.
The incident went viral on social media and was a topic of conversation leading up to the game.
Brandon Hanning, who was inside the Rufus costume in 2010, told The Athletic in 2020 that “Literally, the sole purpose of me doing the mascot thing was to tackle Brutus Buckeye."
After Ohio State took a 6-0 lead with 9:58 remaining in the first half on Jayden Fielding's 20-yard field goal, Rufus appeared in the North end zone with a WWE championship belt while footage of the infamous tackle played on the scoreboard.
Brutus then came out of the tunnel to John Cena's “The Time is Now” entrance music. Brutus then won the tug-of-war to even the score at 1-1.
At the next media timeout, Brutus took the belt from Rufus by easily winning a 100-yard dash. Rufus then held up Brutus' hand as the victor and both mascots made up before going to their respective sidelines.
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