COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes are fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings going into the Big Ten title game against Northwestern Saturday but still feel they have something to prove to the nation and the playoff selection committee.
Big Ten Championship
(4) OSU (5-0) vs (14) Northwestern (6-1)
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis; Sat., Dec. 19 (Noon/FOX)
Big Ten administrators changed a rule so Ohio State could play for the conference championship, despite only having three of their eight scheduled games canceled this season due to COVID-19 issues.
Now the Buckeyes want to beat the Wildcats decisively enough that the College Football Playoff committee will take note.
“We only played five games, everybody else in the nation played eight or more, so we have to come to play and we have to, like, show the world what we can do,” cornerback Shaun Wade said.
Ohio State would benefit from a big win that could solidify the ranking and put it in a playoff semifinal game on New Year’s Day.
The top five teams in the CFP rankings have been locked into their places for four weeks, with the Crimson Tide leading the way as it prepares to play Florida for the Southeastern Conference championship.
Unbeaten Notre Dame is second and Clemson is third going into their Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
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Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
The vote for Fields by the conference’s coaches and media was hardly a surprise considering how dominant he and the Buckeyes have been. The junior leads the nation in completion percentage and the Big Ten in total yards per game by a wide margin at 392.2. He has 1,407 yards passing with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions in five games.
Right guard Wyatt Davis took home honors as the conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Fields and Davis were among nine Buckeyes on offense who made either a first, second or third All-Big Ten team.
Sophomore Garrett Wilson and junior Chris Olave were both first team picks by the coaches at the wide receiver position.
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Two of the seven Big Ten Champions Week games have been canceled because of COVID-19 outbreaks. The Old Oaken Bucket game between Indiana and Purdue set for Friday was canceled for the second time in two weeks and the third time this season.
Michigan’s game at No. 18 Iowa on Saturday also was canceled.
That’s the third straight Wolverines game called off. Athletic director Warde Manuel says more than 50 players are unavailable because of positive tests and contact tracing requirements.