The Big Ten is not good at football. It’s not really a conference that deserves to have team in the inaugural college football playoff, but it could still happen. The Ohio State Buckeyes actually have a path to the playoff, believe it or not. While everyone else in Big Ten country has now switched over to hoops season, playoff possibilites still exist in Columbus.
CBS’ Gary Danielson on the Ohio State Buckeyes postseason chances:
“Ohio State’s next opponent is Minnesota. This is a really important game, because right now, TCU is getting a lot of credit for beating a 7-2 Minnesota team. But if Ohio State beats Minnesota, and then Minnesota loses to Nebraska and Wisconsin, that 7-2 turns into 7-5. I believe Baylor would then leapfrog TCU. You can make the argument already that they should be ahead of them.”
“But as Baylor’s schedule gets better at the end, and Minnesota’s wins go down, I think Baylor will leapfrog TCU, which is important for Ohio State. Because if Ohio State wins out, they will have one more game – the Big Ten Championship… Baylor’s non-conference schedule is not very pretty… the committee will want to send a message that Ohio State had the guts to go out and play good teams. They lost one game, but they have gotten better. I predict that if Ohio State wins out, they will be in the Tournament.”
Interesting. Okay, so Ohio State Buckeyes fans need to root for Minnesota; and Baylor to a point. Then root against Baylor later, got it?
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2