COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes still have an outside chance of reaching the Big Ten football championship game, though they do not control their own destiny.
(2) Ohio St. (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) at Mich. St. (3-7, 1-6), Sat. Nov. 19, Spartan Stadium (Noon/ESPN)
Ohio State’s fate actually rests in the hands of the Penn State Nittany Lions, who would represent the East Division in the Dec. 2 title game unless they lose at Rutgers Saturday night or are defeated at home by Michigan State on Nov. 26.
Which means the Buckeyes’ future depends to a great deal on Sparty, which took Ohio State out of the national championship race in 2015 with an untimely defeat in Columbus.
“We understand what happened last year but that was in the past,” junior hybrid back Curtis Samuel said. “We feels like we are a different team this year. We’re going to treat this game like any other game.”
The Spartans are certainly a different team than the one that has been one of the dominant teams in the Big Ten, and a thorn in the side of the Buckeyes for the past several years. After starting out the season 2-0, Sparty dropped seven straight games, finally winning its first conference game on Nov. 12 at Rutgers.
After Ohio State moved into the No. 2 spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, there has been speculation about whether the Buckeyes could miss out on the Big Ten championship and still wind up in a national semifinal.
The scenario seemed more possible after fifth-ranked Louisville lost to Houston Thursday night.
Head coach Urban Meyer refused to engage in speculation during the week.
“All focus and laser lights are on a team that we know very well, got a lot of respect for, excellent players, great coaches and we’re going to do our very best to perform well on the road,” he said.
After Michigan State, the Buckeyes host rival Michigan (Nov. 26, Noon/ABC or ESPN) in a game that has no bearing on the East Division title unless Ohio State loses, which hands it to Penn State unless the Lions lose their last two games.