Big Ten: Buckeyes will play for title against Wildcats

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Big Ten Conference dropped its six-game minimum requirement for the league championship game Wednesday, clearing that way for No. 3 Ohio State to take on No. 15 Northestern in another chance for the Buckeyes to burnish their playoff credentials.

The Buckeyes (5-0) will try for their fifth straight conference title when they face the Wildcats (5-1) in Indianapolis. Ohio State finished the regular season with only five games after Michigan had to pull out of Saturday’s showdown because of COVID-19 issues.

The rule change had to be approved by the Big Ten Conference Administrators Council, which includes athletic directors, senior women’s administrators and presidents from all 14 schools.

“The decision was based 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,” the Big Ten said in a statement.

The conference determined before the season that teams would have to play six of their eight scheduled games to qualify for the championship game. Ohio State — No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings and the conference’s only undefeated team — has missed three games because of issues with the pandemic.

The latest was the annual grudge match against Michigan, which canceled its trip to Columbus because of rising COVID-19 cases and players in quarantine. Falling a game short of the threshold set by the league, the Buckeyes would have been outside looking in.