That’s led to many questions about whether the six-game minimum to make the Big Ten Championship Game could be reduced. Many Buckeye fans would like to see Ohio State throw its weight around and convince the conference to reduce that minimum, but Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said those conversations hadn’t happened yet as of Saturday. While he didn’t rule out that he could start those conversations over the next two weeks, should the Big Ten really change a rule that’s been in place all season just to help Ohio State?
If it doesn’t, then there’s one other way that teams who play less than six games could become eligible for the Big Ten Championship Game. If the average number of games played by teams throughout the conference falls below six, then the new minimum to qualify for the conference title game would become two games less than the average, which would allow even a 4-0 Ohio State to represent the East in the conference title game. Because an average above 5.5 would round up to six, though, that would require 12 out of 14 Big Ten games being canceled over the next two weeks.
Realistically, there wouldn’t even be a Big Ten Championship Game if the spread of COVID-19 got so bad throughout the conference that only two games could be played over the next two weeks.
That means that even though Ohio State only needs one win in its next two games to clinch a Big Ten Championship Game berth as long as it plays them both, not playing either one of those games will almost certainly prevent the Buckeyes from playing for a conference title in Indianapolis. Whether the Buckeyes play in that game might not necessarily make or break their College Football Playoff hopes – Ohio State will still have the opportunity to play someone that week, as long as it’s healthy enough to play, as part of what the Big Ten has dubbed “Champions Week” – but they’d certainly prefer to have a chance to defend their conference crown.
Ohio State’s conference championship hopes could hinge on what happens over the next few days, as the Buckeyes hope to continue evading positive tests so they can practice later this week and play Michigan State on Saturday after players began returning to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for small-group workouts on Monday.
