The Ohio State Buckeyes are the only top-eight team in the College Football Playoff rankings to not have a conference championship game on the schedule. A lot of people are asking the simple question of how can that be. There is a simple answer that explains it all.
The Big Ten Conference is currently split into two divisions: the East and West. The teams with the best record in each division face off against each other in the Big Ten Conference Championship game every season.
Ohio State is in the East Division with the Indiana Hoosiers, Michigan State Spartans, Maryland Terrapins, Penn State Nittany Lions and Michigan Wolverines.
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Why is Ohio State not in the Big 10 championship?
Ohio State is not in the Big 10 championship as they lost to Michigan. The 30-24 defeat in “The Game” meant that OSU finished 2nd in the Big Ten East, knocking them out of contention for the championship game.
That means they are not in the Big Ten Conference Championship game as the Michigan Wolverines won the division and will face off against the West Division winner Iowa Hawkeyes. That leaves Ohio State idle this week but where does that leave their chances to make the College Football Playoff?
Can the Ohio State Buckeyes still make the College Football Playoff?
This is going to be extremely difficult for the Ohio State Buckeyes to do as they are currently sixth in the College Football Playoff poll. Not playing in the Big Ten Conference Championship game is going to make things more difficult.
In order for the Buckeyes to make the CFP, they would need to be one of the top four teams selected by the College Football Playoff committee. In reality, the chances are slim for them to make the leap.
For the Buckeyes to make the College Football Playoff, they would need to end up jumping two teams. They already theoretically jumped one team as the Oregon Ducks were fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings and lost last night to the Washington Huskies for the second time.
If Ohio State have to make the top four, they would need another team in front of them to lose today, but the odds are not in their favor.
While it is not a favorable position, if they had won last week against Michigan, they would be in the Big Ten Conference Championship game and in the driver’s seat.
They need another team to lose and with Florida State being fourth and potentially on upset alert, that could be their opening. Of course, that is, as long as another team behind them, like the Texas Longhorns or Alabama Crimson Tide, do not leapfrog over them.
Edited by Akshay Saraswat