Ohio State’s chances for a B1G Championship just took a serious hit, and it has nothing to do with the play on the field.

The Buckeyes’ chances took a serious hit because they were forced to cancel Saturday’s game against Illinois due to increasing COVID-19 cases within Ohio State’s program. As of now, Ryan Day’s team still has a chance to finish six games, the minimum requirement to be qualified for the B1G title game, but there is still no idea if the Buckeyes will be able to hit the field next weekend.

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Fans should remember that every team to this point that has seen a cancellation in the B1G has wound up canceling two games in a row. That includes Wisconsin and Maryland with Minnesota’s status for next weekend against Northwestern still up in the air.

Kirk Herbstreit addressed that possibility on ESPN’s College GameDay:

“I think Ohio State is still trying to get its arms around the situation and where it’s headed,” said Herbstreit. “I know they’re going to, starting today, be away from the facility for 10 days. Like what Wisconsin faced. So, when that happens, you’re not just looking at missing Illinois, you’re looking at missing next week’s game at Michigan State. Not getting back to the facility until Tuesday of the Michigan game. Remember, the B1G has different protocol than all the other conferences. Ohio State right now looks like a team that’s going to miss two, possibly three games.”

Along with that analysis, Rece Davis informed fans that if next Saturday’s game against Michigan State is canceled, it would require mass cancellations across the conference to be qualified. Davis said that a B1G representative confirmed 12 of the 14 games scheduled over Weeks 7 & 8 in the conference would need to be canceled in order for Ohio State to qualify.

To call that a longshot is modest, at best. To this point, the most games canceled in a single B1G weekend are the two cancellations in Week 6.