Storming the Field 101: What the Buckeyes got wrong after beating Penn State Football

Ohio State Buckeye fans rush the field following a 33-24 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday's NCAA Division I football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.Osu21psu Bjp 1385
Ohio State Buckeye fans rush the field following a 33-24 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday's NCAA Division I football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.Osu21psu Bjp 1385 /
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Ohio State fans, for some reason, stormed the field after the Buckeyes dispatched No. 20 ranked Penn State Football on Saturday night 

As we ruminate about what could have been with Penn State Football in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the final picture in our heads from last night was the Buckeyes faithful storming the field after their 33-24 victory over the Nittany Lions.

This is the second time in three games Penn State Football has seen opposing fans storm the field, and both received quite a bit of flack from Nittany Lion faithful.

Was that just bitter fandom seeping through after a particularly brutal loss? Or did fans have a point? Let’s dissect this a bit further.

What are the ‘rules for storming the field’?

Obviously, there’s nothing written (although in the $EC, schools do get fined for allowing it).  But, what are the factors that go into determining whether a storm should occur … certainly PSU’s early-season win over Villanova wasn’t worthy of a storming, right?

The Factors to Determine Whether or Not to Storm the Field should be as follows:

  1. Did an upset occur? (we’ll look at the spread for this)
  2. Has the winning team ‘been there before? (we’ll look at recent success)
  3. Was any division or conference championship berth clinched?
  4. Do the two teams playing have a history or rivalry?
  5. Miscellaneous (important injury, playing to save a coach’s job, milestone etc.)

Using these factors, let’s take a look at the two recent examples involving Penn State Football.