Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football show where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.
In the highly anticipated Big Ten showdown this week between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Penn State, which team needs the win more? Which team could take a loss and keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive? Both? Neither?
The Nittany Lions, somewhat unexpectedly, lost earlier this month to then-No. 17 Minnesota, but they still have a chance to be a one-loss Big Ten champion, which would almost certainly lead to a playoff invitation this year.
However, lose to Ohio State and it’s probably over for them, barring some catastrophic meltdown in multiple other conferences. The playoff committee has never included a two-loss team, and for that to happen for the first time, that team would probably have to be a two-loss conference champ. If Penn State falls to the Buckeyes, that’s likely the end of its playoff hopes.
Even though Ohio State enters this game with a perfect 10-0 record, it probably can’t afford to lose either. Losing to Penn State would keep the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game, meaning they’d likely be fighting for that fourth playoff spot against other one-loss teams, which might have a conference championship card to play.
So perhaps it’s possible that, despite their difference records, neither team could survive a loss an still make the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State is an 18.5-point favorite at home against Penn State on Saturday (Noon ET, FOX).
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