Big Ten audible: Ohio State will play for title
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 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.
FORMER ALABAMA, NFL COACH RAY PERKINS PASSES AWAY » Ray Perkins, who replaced Hall of Famer Bear Bryant as Alabama’s football coach and started the transition with the New York Giants that led to two Super Bowl titles, died Wednesday morning in Tuscaloosa. He was 79.
The school announced his passing and daughter Rachael Perkins posted news of his death on her Facebook page. No other details were immediately available.
Perkins left a head coaching job with the NFL’s Giants to replace Bryant following the 1982 season. It was a dream job for the former Crimson Tide star receiver.
Perkins won three bowl games at Alabama and was 32-15-1, but also went 5-6 in 1984. It was the program’s first losing season since 1957, the year before the school hired Bryant. WASHINGTON PAUSES FOOTBALL DUE TO COVID-19 CASES » Washington has paused football activities after a rise in positive COVID-19 cases within the Huskies’ program, putting in doubt the fate of its game this Saturday against Oregon.
Washington did not reveal the number of cases but said it would not practice Wednesday while undergoing additional PCR testing.
The school said it would announce the status of the Oregon game when more information becomes available. Should the game be played, the winner of the Washington- Oregon matchup will be Pac-12 North champions and play in the conference title game on Dec. 18.
Soccer
MLS CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH RELEASE OF 25 GREATEST LIST » MLS is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, commemorating it with the release of the MLS 25 Greatest. Among the former players on the list are Cobi Jones, Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Clint Dempsey and Robbie Keane.
Among the current players honored on the list are San Jose’s Chris Wondowloski, the league’s all-time leading scorer with 166 goals, Portland’s Diego Valeri, Atlanta’s Josef Martinez and LAFC’s Bradley Wright-Phillips.
The season will culminate Saturday night with the MLS Cup final between the Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders.