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If B1G allows Ohio State to schedule a non-conference game, 2 contenders are currently available
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Ohio State received a lot of news Tuesday, some good and some bad.
The bad news is that The Game has been canceled. Though the Buckeyes were able to return to the field against Michigan State, Michigan has seen the virus situation of the Wolverines continue to develop. Without a handle on the situation, Saturday’s game was called off on Tuesday.
The good news is that Ohio State remained locked into the No. 4 spot on the latest College Football Playoff Rankings with the win over the Spartans providing a boost. What is worrisome, however, is that Ohio State’s odds on ESPN’s Playoff Predictor took a dip after the cancellation.
The cancellation and dip on the predictor, coupled with the comments by CFP Committee Chair Gary Barta that the number of games played is a critical point of discussion, means the Buckeyes could benefit from another game. Unfortunately, the odds of a B1G opponent rescheduling has only dropped as Purdue and Indiana both paused team activities on Tuesday.
In order to schedule a team outside the B1G, conference leadership would need to bend the rules for Ohio State. That is something the conference did not do for Nebraska earlier in the year but may consider at this point with a shot at the CFP on the line.
Should Ohio State be cleared to investigate a non-conference game, two top-1o opponents are readily available: No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 8 Cincinnati. Both teams have seen games canceled this weekend.
Among those teams, Cincinnati would make the most sense geographically, but it was virus issues within the Bearcats program that forced the cancellation of their game with Tulsa. That leaves the Aggies as a potential suitor, due to the fact that their game against Ole Miss was postponed due to issues with the Rebels.
At this point, getting a game inside and outside of the B1G continues to look very unlikely for the Buckeyes, with a more feasible – and likely – option potentially being the B1G waiving its previous six-game threshold rule. At this point, all that is really known is that the finish to this season is going to be a crazy one you will not want to mis.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.