SEC and Big Ten crowds held to different standards, OSU fans unscathed for throwing trash

In Week 8, the student section at Darrell K Royal Texas-Memorial Stadium threw water bottles onto the field, delaying the game, and the call that they so adamantly disagreed with was overturned. Just one week later, Ohio State Buckeye fans did the same thing but the call stood.

The biggest difference, beyond the fact that the Longhorn fans got their way and the Buckeyes didn't? The University of Texas was fined and Ohio State University is walking away unscathed.

UT-Austin was fined $250,000 and had to review footage in order to determine which fans were involved in the incident –– subsequently banning said fans from future athletic events. This was all part of a sanction passed down by the SEC, Texas' new conference.

Ohio State's conference, the Big Ten, has decided that the Buckeyes do not need to be fined and will not take action against the Buckeyes.

"All Big Ten institutions are expected to adhere to the policies and procedures within the Big Ten Football Game Management Manual," the conference said. "The security and protection of student-athletes, officials, coaches, and staff is of utmost importance. The conference is confident that Ohio State staff properly handled the situation on Saturday and will have no additional comment."

The Big Ten determined that the internal handling of the in-game incident by Ohio State was sufficient punishment enough and that, even with a similar delay to Texas, no further punishment nor sanction was necessary.

During the game and the length of the incident, officials at the Ohio State-Nebraska game ushered the Cornhusker team to the middle of the field to protect them from any falling or flying debris.

During the Texas-Georgia game, the incident also delayed the game, and Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian personally walked across the field to tell the fans to stop.

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