CHICAGO — When the Big Ten decided to play football this season, after originally having canceled fall the season because of the coronavirus pandemic, the conference, athletic directors, and university presidents agreed that each team must play a minimum of six games to be eligible for the Big Ten Championship Game.
That rule was amended to a five-game minimum requirement on Wednesday, ultimately allowing #4 Ohio State to advance the title game set to be played in Indianapolis against #21 Northwestern. The Buckeyes are 5-0 this season.
The decision has left a sour taste in the mouths of Indiana fans, who feel the Hoosiers should be given that spot in the title game since the Hoosiers have met the originally agreed upon six-game requirement.
Indiana is 6-1 and ranked #12 in the College Football Playoff rankings, 8th in the Associated Press Top 25. They are second in the East division behind the Buckeyes.
“The decision was based on competitive analysis,” the Big Ten said in a released statement. “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.”
Ohio State’s annual rivalry game against Michigan was canceled this week because of an outbreak of coronavirus among several Michigan players. The cancellation left Ohio State one game shy of the six-game threshold. So the conference has lowered that standard to a five-game minimum, thus making Ohio State the East division representative in the conference championship.
“Although we understand the decision, we are disappointed,” said Indiana University athletic director Scott Dolson. “From the start of the year, we have said we can only control what we can control. We had a chance to earn a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, but ultimately fell a touchdown short on the road against a great Ohio State team.”
Ranked number-four, Ohio State appears to be the only hope for the Big Ten to get a team in the College Football Playoff this season.
Though the Hoosiers will not compete for a conference championship, their stellar season has put them in a position to be discussed for a “New Year’s Six” bowl game, such as the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, or Cotton Bowl.
The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are this year’s College Football Playoff semi-final games.
A spot in one of this year’s New Year’s Six bowl games would be Indiana’s biggest bowl game appearance since playing in the Peach Bowl against Auburn in 1990.
