Ohio State's football team WILL play in Big Ten title game as the conference waives the six-game requirement after Michigan cancelled on the Buckeyes due to a COVID-19 outbreak
The Big Ten will allow Ohio State to play for a conference title after Michigan's decision to cancel Saturday's rivalry game due to a COVID-19 outbreak left the third-ranked Buckeyes ineligible for the championship against Northwestern.
A vote was expected Wednesday to make the decision official.
Removing the minimum would clear the way for Ohio State (5-0) to play in the Big Ten championship game on December 19 against the No. 15 Wildcats.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (1) escapes from Michigan State linebacker Antjuan Simmons during the first half of a game on Saturday. The Big Ten will allow Ohio State to play for a conference title after Michigan's decision to cancel Saturday's rivalry game due to a COVID-19 outbreak left the third-ranked Buckeyes ineligible for the championship
A vote was expected Wednesday to make the decision official. Removing the minimum would clear the way for Ohio State (5-0) to play in the Big Ten championship game on December 19 against the No. 15 Northwester Wildcats
A person with knowledge of the Big Ten's discussions told The Associated Press on Wednesday that before the rule can officially be changed it must be voted on by ADs, senior women's administrators and presidents.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Big Ten was not making its internal discussions public.
The conference determined before the season that teams would have to play six of their eight scheduled games to qualify for the championship game. But Ohio State - No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings and the conference's best team - has missed three games because of COVID-19 issues, leaving it one short.
Movement on the rule Wednesday came a day after Michigan, citing a spike in COVID-19 cases, canceled its annual showdown with Ohio State scheduled for Saturday, leaving college football without one of its cornerstone rivalry games.
The Ohio State Buckeyes had played in the previous three Big Ten championship games
The Buckeyes played through what coach Ryan Day called a 'mini outbreak' last Saturday in a 52-12 win at Michigan State after he was relegated to watching the game from home. Day is among the coaches and players in the program who tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to Ohio State canceling a game at Illinois. The Buckeyes were unable to play an earlier game because of an outbreak at Maryland.
While outbreaks have disrupted more than 100 games across major college football since late August, the cancelation of the Ohio-State-Michigan game mattered because the undefeated Buckeyes have championship goals again this season.
Falling a game short of the threshold set by the league, the Buckeyes would have been outside looking in on the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis. Ohio State has won the last four conference titles.
The change was made at the expense of surprising Indiana (6-1), which would have gone to the title game if the six-game rule had remained intact. The No. 9 Hoosiers and Purdue both halted practices this week because of COVID-19 issues, likely putting their game Saturday in jeopardy.
Day suggested on Tuesday that the conference's six-game rule needed to be 'looked at hard' to allow the Buckeyes in. He argued the rule was made early, before the pandemic caused delays and pauses that led to improvisational changes throughout the season.
The Big Ten could also decide Ohio State will still represent the East Division at least in part because the conference doesn't want to hurt the Buckeyes chances of earning a playoff berth. Big Ten athletic directors will meet Wednesday to discuss that possibility. 'I just think we have to take a hard look periodically at all this stuff and this is one of those situations,' Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. 'If we don't quite get the game we need to get in the championship game, I think that needs to be looked at hard, just like anybody else in the conference. There's no easy solution in times like this'