Unreal. Not only did the Buckeyes have a game in which SO many things went their way, but the chips kept falling into place well after their Noon game ended.
Ohio State’s complete destruction of 24th-ranked Northwestern wasn’t the end of the day’s joy. The 45-10 win was a constant afternoon of “did you SEE that?” moments, and then the truly unexpected happened when Penn State was defeated by Iowa 24-23 (seriously? Iowa? No, seriously?).
The BBC wanted to see Penn State go all the way after they upended us two weeks ago, but the Lions couldn’t handle the success. Now the Big Ten (and the automatic BCS bowl bid) are up for grabs.
Michigan State stands alone at the top of the conference with a 6-1 record. Sparty is off next week before traveling to Penn State in two weeks.
Ohio State and Penn State are now tied for second place at 5-1 each. The Buckeyes play Illinois next week before coming home to face Michigan. Both teams are sad sacks right now, as Michigan is 3-7 and Illinois just lost to Western Freaking Michigan. Penn State goes home for their final two games Indiana and MSU.
The Buckeyes should (I said should, not will, in case karma is listening) win out, which will automatically give them a share of the Big Ten title. But who will they share it with? The winner of the Michigan State-PSU game will tell us. If PSU wins, the Lions get the Rose Bowl bid. If MSU wins, the Buckeyes go west.
It’s that simple.
But we get nothing if we don’t beat Illinois and Michigan.
By the way, the only path for the Buckeyes to outright win the conference is for Indiana to beat PSU in Happy Valley. Not. Gonna. Happen.
———————–
The Big Ten now has six teams eligible for bowl games with a possible 8 teams getting in. Illinois and Wisconsin have two games each to win one and get in. Illinois has Ohio State and Northwestern. I think they blew their bowl bid by losing to a MAC school yesterday. Wisconsin has Minnesota and Cal Poly left. Barring another collapse like mid-season, they should get one win there.
————————
Beanie Wells rushed for 140 yards yesterday, giving him 2,999 yards in his career. He also went from the 9th-leading rusher in OSU history to the 6th-leading rusher, all in one game. He passes Antonio Pittman, Michael Wiley and Carlos Snow and looks to move up again at Illinois.
- #1 – Archie Griffin – 5,529 yards (2,530)
- #2 – Eddie George – 3,768 yards (769)
- #3 – Tim Spencer – 3,553 yards (554)
- #4 – Keith Byars – 3,200 yards (201)
- #5 – Pepe Pearson – 3,121 yards (122)
- #6 – Beanie Wells – 2,999 yards
All signs point towards Wells cracking the top 4 by the end of November, should he stay healthy. Illinois’ defense is average, but Wells should be able to get the 122 yards he needs to take over the #5 slot. 201 total yards in 2 games will put him at #4 over the legendary Keith Byars. Keep in mind that Wells ran for 229 against Michigan alone last year.
Even with the bowl game, it’d be incredible if he cracked the top 3. He needs 554 yards to do it. That’s 185 yards per game. Possible, but not likely.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
