UPDATE: The Big 10 has officially eliminated the six game requirement. Ohio State will play Northwestern for the conference title December 19.
In collaboration with #B1G COP/C & Conference office, ADs & SWAs ✅ vote to eliminate game requirement in 2020 #B1GFCG.@NUFBFamily vs. @OhioStateFB in #B1GFCG ????
Decision based on competitive analysis regardless of ???? Ws or Ls this weekend.➡️FACTS: https://t.co/Ixtoz9rpTZ pic.twitter.com/P5QMlEHyOv
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) December 9, 2020
Ohio State will make the Big 10 title game.
As of right now, OSU doesn’t meet the six-game minimum to play in the B1G title game. After the Michigan cancellation, the Buckeyes will finish the regular season 5-0. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
However, it’s not going to be a problem! According to Pete Thamel, the conference will vote to remove the minimum and put OSU in the title game over Indiana to face Northwestern.
A vote is expected today by the Big Ten to remove the six-game minimum for eligibility to play in Big Ten Championship. The rationale is expected to be that even if Ohio State lost to Michigan this week, they’d still be the East Division representative because of a tiebreak.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 9, 2020
I have very split feelings on this. On one hand, Indiana qualified for the B1G title game under the rules established when the season started.
They met the minimum number of games needed, it was their best season in decades and fans were pumped for the Hoosiers.
That’s now being taken away from them, and they have every right in the world to be pissed as all hell.
On the other hand, OSU already beat Indiana and the B1G needs to do whatever is necessary to get a team into the playoff.
At the end of the day, the conference had to choose between Indiana and the Buckeyes and chose the latter. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but it’s what’s best for the conference.
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I would love to know what the B1G would have done if Indiana was sitting at fifth or sixth in the playoff rankings instead of 12. You have to imagine that this move wouldn’t be happening, but that’s just not how life works.