Ohio State left with one scenario to reach Big Ten championship game

Ohio State must win at Michigan on Nov. 29 to reach the Big Ten championship game.

It is left with no alternative to return to Indianapolis following Indiana’s 56-3 rout of Purdue on Nov. 28.

Had the Hoosiers been upset by the Boilermakers in their Old Oaken Bucket game, a narrow path would have remained for the Buckeyes to withstand a potential loss in The Game and clinch a berth.

But if the Buckeyes lose for a fifth straight year in The Game, they will be eliminated from contention with either Michigan or Oregon left to face Indiana in the conference title game. The Wolverines and Ducks would own tiebreakers over the Buckeyes as one-loss teams.

Ohio State locks up a spot as long as it prevails against the Wolverines during the final weekend of the regular season. No tiebreakers would be involved. The victory would allow it to finish 9-0 overall in conference play, along with Indiana, leaving them as the two highest-ranked teams in the league. Both the Wolverines and Ducks entered the last weekend of the regular season with one loss apiece in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes have not appeared in the conference championship game since 2020, when they won the East Division. The league scrapped divisions last year following expansion to 18 schools.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football must beat Michigan to reach Big Ten title game