After 15 years, Rufus is returning to the scene of the attack.
No. 1 Ohio State meets Ohio at Ohio Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday – an infrequent in-state matchup between the defending national champion and the Mid-American Conference champion. The Buckeyes are heavy favorites against the Bobcats when the teams come out of the tunnel.
Fans might double-check the location of Brutus, the Ohio State mascot; and Rufus, the Ohio mascot. We remember what happened the last time these teams met. It's one of the most infamous examples of mascot-on-mascot crime.
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Why did Ohio mascot Rufus attack Ohio State mascot Brutus?
On Sept. 18, 2010, No. 2 Ohio State welcomed Ohio for a non-conference matchup. The Buckeyes won 43-7 – but that's not what we remember 15 years later.
Brandon Hanning, a Pomeroy, Ohio native, was the Bobcats' mascot in 2009, and his goal was to be the mascot for the Ohio State game. He was not enrolled at Ohio in 2010, but he was still asked to be the mascot before the game.
When Hanning saw Brutus leading the Buckeyes on to the field, he made his move.
"It hit me that they were about to run across the field," Hanning told NBC4's Jerod Smalley. "This is a perfect time to do this."
Hanning attacked Ohio State student Sean Stazen – who was in the Brutus costume.
Brutus shook off Rufus' tackle, but the play was not over. Once Brutus got to the end zone, Rufus attacked again – taking a swing at Brutus and jumping on his back. The photo of the incident will be making the rounds Saturday.
The incident dominated the news cycle the following week in Columbus and remains part of the lore between the Buckeyes and Bobcats. Stazen lives in Central Ohio. Hanning does not regret those actions 15 years later.
"It's still just a hilarious story when it happened and here we are 15 years later still talking about it," Stazen told NBC4.
NBC4 did a fantastic"Dateline" investigation of the Rufus vs. Brutus incident which can be seen here.
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Ohio State vs. Ohio series history
Ohio State and Ohio have met seven times in school history. The Buckeyes are 7-0, and that included four shutouts from 1899-1902.
The teams met for the first time in 97 years on Sept. 18, 1999. The Bobcats had a 10-3 lead in the second quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Chad Brinker, who is now the president of football operations for the Tennessee Titans. Ohio State bounced back with Michael Wiley, who had 98 yards and two TDs in a 40-16 victory.
The Bobcats kept it closer in 2008. The Bobcats had a 14-6 lead with 9:06 left in the third quarter a fumble-return TD by Curtis Meyers, but the Buckeyes rallied again in the fourth quarter. Ray Small's 69-yard punt return for a TD clinched a 26-14 victory.
As for the infamous Rufus vs. Brutus game? Ohio State cruised to a 43-7 victory, though the victory was later vacated as a result of the "TattooGate" scandal.
The Buckeyes have not lost to an Ohio school since a 7-6 loss to Oberlin on Oct. 8, 1921. Under Ryan Day, the Buckeyes are 5-0 against MAC schools and they have outscored those opponents by a combined score of 320-39.
Ohio State vs. Ohio all-time results
| DATE | SCORE |
| Sept. 18, 2010 | No. 2 Ohio State 43, Ohio 7 |
| Sept. 6, 2008 | No. 3 Ohio State 26, Ohio 14 |
| Sept. 18, 1999 | No. 12 Ohio State 40, Ohio 16 |
| Oct. 4, 1902 | Ohio State 17, Ohio 0 |
| Oct. 12, 1901 | Ohio State 17, Ohio 0 |
| Oct. 6, 1900 | Ohio State 20, Ohio 0 |
| Oct. 21, 1899 | Ohio State 41, Ohio 0 |
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