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All of Ohio State’s hard work throughout the year, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been focused on the goal of competing for trophies.
Now, even though the Buckeyes haven’t lost a game this season, they’re going to need a bit of luck and / or the thank you of a committee to make sure those opportunities exist.
Since the state of Ohio has now canceled two games this season, the Buckeyes would not be eligible to participate in the Big Ten Championship game if one of their last two regular season games is not played. Since the state of Ohio has suspended all football team activities for the time being, and other Big Ten teams (Wisconsin and Maryland) that had to suspend team activities ended up missing several games, next week’s game against Michigan State looks in danger, too.
Unless the average number of games played throughout the Big Ten drops below six – and as of now, the average number of games is always over seven – the Big Ten East’s place in the game for the conference title would go to another team if Ohio State plays less. than six regular season games, even though it finished the regular season as the only undefeated team in the East.
The state of Ohio would still be eligible to play an extra game during the Big Ten Championship Game weekend, as the Big Ten predict that all 14 teams will play this weekend – and that could mean a clash with Wisconsin. , given that the Badgers are now ineligible for a conference championship spot after canceling three games – but that would cost the Buckeyes a chance to defend their conference title for a fourth straight year.
Of course, the ultimate goal of the State of Ohio for the 2020 season is not to win another Big Ten Championship, but to win a National Championship. That goal could still be on the table even if the Buckeyes can’t compete for a conference title. But now that the state of Ohio is set to play just a maximum of seven games this season, the question of whether winning all of their games will be enough to make college football playoffs is growing. real.
The college football playoffs haven’t set a minimum number of games for a team to qualify for this year’s playoffs, so that’s good news for Ohio State. And the selection committee said its goal is to pick the top four college football teams, regardless of how many games are played. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a factor yet.
“There may be, there will probably be a number of games where this will have an impact, but we have not identified an absolute number on which to rely,” said the chairman of the selection committee. Gary Barta following the unveiling of this year’s PSC initial rankings. Tuesday. “We want to pick the top 25 teams based on their abilities and the way they play and certainly how many games we can watch are going to play at least one factor.”
Until the state of Ohio loses a game, many will consider the Buckeyes to be one of the best-qualifying college football teams this year, and that’s why they were placed fourth in the initial standings of the PSC, even though they only played four. games this season. But will a 4-0 record be enough to keep Ohio State in the top four for another week, or two more weeks if the Michigan State game does not take place? Otherwise, would a 6-0 record with wins over Michigan and whoever Ohio State is playing their last Big Ten against be enough to bring the Buckeyes back?
Given that the events of this college football season have been completely unprecedented, one can only guess how the selection committee will deal with the lack of games played in the state of Ohio, but that doesn’t help the Buckeyes. because Indiana is still the only team the Buckeyes have played with a winning record. It also doesn’t help that the Buckeyes might now miss an opportunity to play Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game – especially if Northwestern wins, as it might be difficult for the committee to justify the state’s selection. ‘Ohio over Northwestern if the Wildcats go undefeated, play more games and win the conference title.
This is all outside the control of the state of Ohio, so all the Buckeyes can do now is try as much as they can to avoid future outbreaks of COVID-19 – which, quite frankly, is also out of their control – then focus on playing the game as well as possible in any games they can still play. Winning is certainly Ohio State’s only path to the playoffs now, and it might need to win its remaining games impressively, so the Buckeyes (who will be shorthanded for at least the rest of the regular season, (as all players who test positive this week will be sidelined for 21 days) must come back focused whenever team activities resume for any chance of winning a championship this year.
There wouldn’t be a harder pill for the Buckeyes to swallow, however, than losing the chance to compete for a championship because of more than a loss on the field.
The state of Ohio already faced this possibility in August when the Big Ten decided to postpone the football season – a move which is one of the reasons the Buckeyes are in the position they are in. currently, because the beginning of October left them little room for maneuver. reprogram the parts that could not be played. Now, instead of the presidents and chancellors of the Big Ten, their chances of competing for a championship are in the hands of a 13-person selection committee, and they will have to hope what they can do on the pitch, and their the reputation of being one of the best teams in the country will be enough to give them that chance even if their opportunities to prove themselves quickly run out.
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