The football game was 1,000 miles away, in Austin, Tex., but fans of Ohio State University who remained in Columbus apparently were fired up to celebrate after the top-ranked Buckeyes defeated the No. 2 University of Texas, 24-7, on Saturday night. Local police officers and firefighters responded to more than 30 fires set in student neighborhoods, and an Ohio State official and her husband, along with a battalion fire chief, suffered minor injuries when a car crashed through a command post set up in the driveway of a student-union building, the Associated Press reported.

The AP identified the Ohio State official as Barbara Rich, an assistant vice president for student affairs. The driver of the car was identified as an Ohio State cheerleader who had not traveled to the game. He was being held in a county jail pending a hearing on Monday.

Most of the blazes involved couches and mattresses that were set on fire outside houses, and officials said there was little property damage. The police said they had arrested about 17 people, five of them on arson charges. Most Ohio State students have not yet returned to the campus, where fall classes begin next week.