In their first year in the Big Ten Conference, the Oregon Ducks are leading the way as we near the end of the regular season. With a spot in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game up for grabs, Dan Lanning’s Ducks are in great position.
All they need to do is win on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers, and they’re in. With a 10-0 record and a 7-0 record in the Big Ten, the Ducks just need to go 1-1 over their next two games in order to clinch a spot in the conference title game.
Who they might face in Indianapolis, though, is a bit more complicated. Let’s run through the potential opponents.
Indiana Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0)
What a story the Hoosiers have been this year under Kurt Cignetti. With an undefeated record going into its bye week, Indiana is in a similar position to Oregon: Win and it’s in.
However, it gets a little bit more complicated because of who Indiana plays. The Hoosiers go on the road to Ohio State in Week 13 for one of the biggest games in program history. If they beat the Buckeyes, they clinch a spot in Indianapolis. However, if they lose, a potential tiebreaker scenario comes into play, assuming Ohio State beats the Michigan Wolverines. Indiana can beat Purdue, and both teams will finish 11-1 (8-1).
In that case, Ohio State would get in due to the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana.
Ohio State Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1)
At this point, it seems as if the Buckeyes are the best bet to meet Oregon in Indianapolis. All they need to do is beat Indiana — no small feat — and then beat Michigan in the final week of the season to secure a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Should they win both of those games, it would give them the same record as the Hoosiers — and the Penn State Nittany Lions, assuming they win their final three games of the year, more on that in a second — but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Because of that, the game between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers in Week 13 is being viewed as a play-in game for the conference championship. Whoever wins is almost undoubtedly in, provided they take care of business the following week.
Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1)
The Nittany Lions are the last team who technically have a shot at getting into the Big Ten championship game, though it is a long shot at this point. To get to Indianapolis, they need to win the three remaining games on their schedule — at Purdue, at Minnesota and vs. Maryland. They also need both Ohio State and Indiana to lose one of their two remaining games.
If the Nittany Lions finish with an 11-1 (8-1) record, they would lose in a tiebreaker to Ohio State. If Penn State tied with Indiana, they don’t have a head-to-head matchup, so it would fall to record vs. common opponents, which would get incredibly consuming. Thankfully for all of us, it is unlikely to happen, as well.
In Conclusion…
To sum up, the Ducks have a great chance to make it to the conference title game, assuming that they can win one of their next two games. They will most likely play either Indiana or Ohio State, and it will almost certainly be decided by who wins that game in Week 13.
Who are you putting your money on?
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