COLUMBUS, Ohio — The College Football Playoff selection committee has sent a loud and clear message to the Big Ten Conference.
We like what we see from Ohio State, so don’t deprive us of being able to watch them anymore.
The Buckeyes returned from their own coronavirus absence and played a bad Michigan State team on Saturday. They did so without three offensive line starters, a starting captain at middle linebacker and two other important defensive players.
The committee took notice of all of that, and of how Ohio State still flattened that bad Spartans team, 52-12.
“The fact that three of them were offensive linemen, that certainly got our attention,” said Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, who chairs the CFP selection committee. “Watching Justin Fields do what he did — he really took command of the offense. I’ve been saying the last few weeks about all the different weapons Ohio State has.
“It was important for us to see another game from Ohio State.”
Ohio State’s next scheduled game, against Michigan on Saturday, was canceled due to the Wolverines’ coronavirus issues. So as Tuesday’s rankings were revealed, no one could say if, or who, the Buckeyes will play this week.
Another cancellation within the league would open up an opponent, but multiple Big Ten teams have also paused football activities, pending further COVID-19 test results.
Barta does not need to send stealth messages to the Big Ten Conference. He is one the longest-tenured ADs in the league and presumably can get Commissioner Kevin Warren and his most influential colleagues on the phone rather easily.
The committee, though, has left no doubt that it considers Ohio State one of the four best teams in the country. It has also said every game a team does not play makes it harder to compare them head-to-head to those who do. Notre Dame, at 10-0, has played twice as many games as OSU.
To that point, Barta did not want to speculate what the committee would think if Ohio State cannot play this week and only ends the season 6-0 (assuming it wins its Big Ten champions weekend matchup).
“From the committee’s vantage point, we resist looking ahead,” Barta said. “We’ve seen Ohio State play five games. Based on that performance, we put them in the four spot.
“We’ll just wait and see.”
Ohio State is doing the same, unsure if it will get another opportunity to enhance its resume this week. Warren said Tuesday the league would remain “fluid and nimble” as it considered its options in the days ahead.
There are some peripheral outcomes that might remove any worry the Buckeyes retain about their playoff bid. If Notre Dame and Alabama win the ACC and SEC championships, respectively, it turns one-loss contenders Clemson and Florida into two-loss outsiders.
Ohio State probably doesn’t want to simply hope the other best options get eliminated.
“It was important for the committee to see Ohio State play again, and the more it can see Ohio State play the better,” Barta said.
The Buckeyes are eager to oblige that request. Will they be allowed?
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