Ohio State gets into Big Ten championship game after conference waives six-game requirement

Saying he was “appreciative of our Big Ten Conference colleagues for reconsidering the six-game requirement,” Ohio State Coach Ryan Day declared in a statement, “A lot of changes have happened since that recommendation was put in place. I know making this decision was not easy, and I am thankful for the opportunity our players will now have to play in Indianapolis as an undefeated East Division champion.”

Ohio State was ensured of falling short of the six-game minimum, enacted by the Big Ten at the start of a season heavily altered amid the coronavirus pandemic, after Michigan on Tuesday bowed out of their annual rivalry game citing a high number of positive tests and subsequent quarantining. Previous games against Maryland and Illinois were canceled for similar reasons, the game against the Illini because of positive tests among the Buckeyes.

One day after Michigan’s announcement, the conference cleared the way for its most powerful program to potentially maintain its place among the national elite. The Big Ten did so at the expense of Indiana, which has a record of 6-1 and would have been the East representative had Ohio State been ruled out.

In its announcement, the Big Ten indicated that it considered Ohio State to have something of a tiebreaker over Indiana, by virtue of the Buckeyes’ 42-35 win against the Hoosiers last month.

The decision to eliminate the six-game minimum was based, the conference said, “on a competitive analysis which determined that Ohio State would have advanced to the Big Ten Football Championship Game based on its undefeated record and head-to-head victory over Indiana regardless of a win or loss against Michigan.”

Ohio State will play 5-1 Northwestern for the conference championship. The Wildcats still have a game scheduled this weekend against Illinois but have already locked up the West division.

Indiana, 12th in the most recent CFP rankings, paused all team-related activities on Monday because of a coronavirus outbreak within its program, and on Tuesday, Indiana and Purdue announced the cancellation of this weekend’s annual rivalry game because of rising rates of positivity at both schools. If the Hoosiers were not able to get sufficient medical clearance in time to compete in the Big Ten championship game, the only other teams left to represent the East, apart from Ohio State, could have all had losing records.

“Although we understand the conference’s decision, we are disappointed,” Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson said Tuesday in a statement. “From the start of the year, we have said we can only control what we can control. We had a chance to earn our spot in the Big Ten championship game, but ultimately fell a touchdown short on the road against a great Ohio State team.”