Criminal charges were filed the last time Michigan and Michigan State football met in Ann Arbor.

Two years later, security changes have been made.

In 2022, in a 29-7 Wolverines victory over the Spartans, both teams left the field and headed up what is now named the Lloyd Carr Tunnel. Then, chaos ensued. A brawl followed between a handful of Michigan State players and two Michigan players, much of it captured on camera by reporters.

Videos showed MSU players kicking, punching and even swinging a helmet at two Michigan players, separately — later identified as Gemon Green and Ja'Den McBurrows — in one of the ugliest moments on or off the field in the history of the rivalry.

STATE OF RIVALRY: This Michigan vs. Michigan State game has more juice than you think

In the end, eight Michigan State players were suspended. Khary Crump was charged with a felony while Tank Brown, Justin White, Brandon Wright, Zion Young, Jacoby Windmon and Angelo Gross were all charged with misdemeanors. Of the eight players, the Washtenaw County Prosecutors office filed charges against all except for Jones.

Crump, who swung the helmet, was charged with a felony, but ultimately took a plea deal of 12 months on probation; and under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, charges were removed from his record and his probation sentence was cut short for good behavior.

Of those involved on the night, only U-M's McBurrows (out for the season with injury) and MSU's Grose remain.

But the university and police have taken steps to try to make sure that never happens again.

"In response to the 2022 post-game assault following the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State University football game, the University of Michigan Athletics and the Division of Public Safety and Security (DPSS) have taken significant steps to enhance safety protocols," University of Michigan Deputy Chief of Police Melissa Overton told the Free Press via joint statement with the athletic department. "Key improvements include strengthened coordination with law enforcement from opposing teams, the NCAA, and athletic staff and a notable increase in security personnel for major events.

"A critical change has been the stricter separation of teams before, during, and after games to prevent future conflicts. Additionally, technology has been updated to better detect and respond to potential incidents, ensuring a safer environment for all."

Also, in January of 2023, the university announced its plans to remove approximately 45 seats and widen the tunnel after athletic department staffers conducted what they called a “thorough safety review” at the time.

Part of the reason for the move came in the aftermath of the rivalry game, in hopes to keep fans further from the playing field. Also in the aftermath of that day, a fan touched the head of then-MSU coach Mel Tucker as he walked up the tunnel: the fan was since banned from all future U-M games.

"It's a rivalry," Michigan receiver Tyler Morris said this week when asked about the incident. "There's always going to be something, always something said. There's always a mentality going into this game, I don't think necessarily you need to think about specific instances too much.

"We know how we feel, we know how they feel."

Of course, the 2022 incident wasn't the first time a scuffle happened in the tunnel.

Videos from past years between Michigan and Ohio State show shouting matches and near-skirmishes, while just a few weeks prior to the MSU game, Penn State and U-M players had a shouting match in the tunnel. Nittany Lions players reportedly threw "Uncrustable" peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and postgame, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin called out what he saw as a problem waiting to happen.

"I prefer to talk about these things in the offseason, but the one tunnel is a problem,” Franklin said after the 41-17 loss Oct. 15, 2022. “It’s a problem and has been. To me, we need to put a policy in place from a conference perspective in my mind that’s going to stop — we’re not the first team to kind of get into a jawing match in the tunnel.

“All there has to be a two-minute or minute buffer in between the two teams. This team is in before that team gets close and however we want to do it. But we’re not the first team that’s had issues like that."

Former coach Jim Harbaugh responded to those comments saying he had "bigger fish to fry" however as it turns out, Franklin was spot on. Michigan football, in conjunction with the University of Michigan Police have made a number of changes to security in the tunnel pregame, halftime and postgame.

REQUIRED READING: Michigan's major regression is unacceptable. Sherrone Moore is responsible

[ MUST LISTEN: Our "Hail Yes!" podcast with Tony Garcia and Rainer Sabin previews Michigan vs. Michigan State. Listen below and subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify). ]

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan, Michigan State tunnel fight in 2022 spurs security changes