Visions of gridiron greatness and riveting rivalries might come to mind when imagining heated matchups of college football teams. But erupting fire, flying fists and projectiles seem to accompany many of those meetings these days.

The reputation of college football teams and the schools they represent received a black eye during the weekend as fans turned into hooligans.

Intense football rivalries set off raucous riots at five campuses on Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend melee was highlighted by events at The Ohio State University, where nine cars were burned and 11 others were damaged or overturned. Police arrested 48 people after the Buckeyes downed the University of Michigan 14-9 to go undefeated and earn a chance at a national championship.

Thanks to the riots, embarrassed black eyes will fill the Ohio State section at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona on Jan. 3 instead of proud Buckeyes.

Meanwhile, after a triple-overtime loss, Washington State University fans hurled bottles, plastic souvenirs and other objects at the winning University of Washington players. And North Carolina State University's victory over then-No. 14 Florida State spurred angry fans to tear down goal posts in the Raleigh stadium, leaving two people with knee injuries and breaking another spectator's leg.

If that wasn't enough, some University of California fans were arrested for pulling a similar stunt in Berkeley after the Golden Bears' win over rival Stanford. And a similar incident in South Carolina injured a female fan and squashed sheriff's deputies following Clemson University's win in its match against the University of South Carolina.

Finally, in Honolulu, University of Hawaii players engaged in an on-field brawl with the visiting University of Cincinnati team.

Overall, it was a sad weekend for college athletics. The unconscionable actions of a handful of drunken or spiteful fans in Ohio, Washington, South Carolina and North Carolina have made it seem as if the celebration of an American pastime has to be violent off the field. It seems rioting is just another part of a college experience.

Drunken revelry and feverish fervor for a favorite team can be a deadly combination around the end of an athletic season. The actions of a large group of drunken and high-strung fans celebrating one event can breed a menacing mob mentality that can only lead to violence and destruction. Every student involved in these skirmishes should be ashamed of themselves, but students hoping to graduate from Ohio State this year should be especially remorseful.

Practically everyone they will encounter after receiving their diploma from the university will associate them with last weekend's melee. Ohio State's reputation will be tarnished years to come.

Fans need to learn how to control themselves or else face the consequences. There is a stigma attached to these sorts of events that have stronger repercussions than any penalty police or university officials could enforce.

It is no coincidence that critics from across the country make references to MSU's March 1999 riot, in comparison to this weekend's violent outbursts. It will take more than three years for MSU to live down its "riot school" reputation.

Any student hoping to participate in a wild and drunken uproar should consider its lingering effects.

It might take a short time to clear shattered glass and burned trash cans from the scene of the crime, but it will take years for a university to clean up its image.

Take it from a Spartan.