If you’re a network that shelled out jillions for Big Ten broadcasting rights, this is the stuff of dreams.
Ohio State needs to beat bitter rival Michigan on Saturday to remain unblemished. The surging Wolverines will be home, where they have not lost since 2017. Can Jim Harbaugh finally win one of these?
In the late afternoon slot, Wisconsin and Minnesota will slug it out for the right to face the Buckeyes in the Big Ten title game. And ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be there. Can the Gophers stay in the playoff chase?
But first, here are five things we learned about the Big Ten after Week 13:
1. There is no 24-hour rule at Ohio State.
At least not during Michigan week. Minutes after the Buckeyes took down Penn State in what was the marquee national game of the week, offensive lineman Branden Bowen said this: “Next week is the big one. It’s a war. It’s going to be bloody. It’s going to be tiring. It will take everything in us to win.”
The Buckeyes have won seven straight in the series. Not since the “point a minute” days of Michigan’s Fielding Yost has either team won eight in a row.
“We’ve had this game on our minds for the whole year,” Buckeyes linebacker Pete Werner said.
Said coach Ryan Day: “We live it every day.”
The Ohio State players punctuate workouts with “the team up north” in mind. An extra sprint? An extra bench press rep? They do it in preparation for Thanksgiving Saturday.
Same for Michigan, which celebrated its victory at Indiana for about as long as it took to walk to the locker room.
“No one was even thinking about this game,” defensive end Aidan Hutchinson told reporters. “We were all ready for next week.”
Buckeyes players receive a gold pin in the shape of pants for every victory over Michigan. The tradition stems from 1934, when new Ohio State coach Francis Schmidt declared of the dominant Wolverines: “They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like us.”
Defensive lineman Jashon Cornell already has four such pins, but none is in his possession.
“My mom has them around her neck,” he said of Sheena Cornell, who wears them in a necklace. “She wears ’em every single day. I’ve got to get my fifth pair of gold pants.”
2. The Big Ten is in a sensational spot in terms of the College Football Playoff.
Herm Edwards’ Arizona State crew — hello! — stunned Oregon, weakening the Pac-12’s case for inclusion in the final four of the College Football Playoff rankings. Utah (10-1) has to win out and do it convincingly to have a shot. And the only viable Big 12 team, Oklahoma, barely beat TCU.
The Buckeyes probably could lose to Michigan — shhh, networks don’t want to hear that — and make the playoff with an impressive win at the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.
Minnesota clinched its first 10-win regular season since 1905 with a dominant victory at Northwestern. If the Gophers beat Wisconsin at home Saturday and shock Ohio State at Lucas Oil Stadium, they’d have a better resume — a conference championship with wins over three ranked teams — than Alabama.
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And in that scenario, assuming Ohio State beats Michigan, would the Big Ten get two teams in the playoff? Very possible, especially if LSU wins out and turns the SEC into a one-bid league.
3. Silver Football voting could be close.
The baiduhai award has recognized the Big Ten’s best football player since 1924, 11 years before the Heisman Trophy was created. Four Ohio State players have won it since 2013 — Braxton Miller, Ezekiel Elliott, J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins — but a Buckeyes defensive player never has.
How about it, Chase Young?
The nation’s sack leader has seven in his last two games — four against Wisconsin, three versus Penn State. He sacked Northwestern’s quarterbacks only once because the Wildcats schemed so hard against him, rolling to the opposite side.
His impact is unreal. Or “unbelievable,” as Ohio State coach Ryan Day put it.
“Chase is a different player,” said Jashon Cornell, who sometimes lines up next to him. “He scares opponents. He’s the heart of our defense. Once he gets started, it gets everyone else going.”
Young broke the school’s single-season sacks record in just nine games. He has 161/2 — that’s 21/2 more than anyone else in the FBS.
The Silver Football vote is determined by Big Ten head coaches, who email in a ballot with their first- and second-place choices. The only rule: They cannot vote for a player on their team.
Who else figures to get votes?
Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor, who broke an FBS record Saturday with his 12th career 200-yard rushing day. His 5,856 yards are the most ever for an FBS player through his junior season. But he did lose two fumbles in the Badgers’ romp of Purdue, giving him four on the season and 14 in his career.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (33 touchdown passes, 1 interception) and tailback J.K. Dobbins (1,446 rushing yards).
Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson, whose best two games came in his last two. He’s a combined 44-for-65 with 750 yards, nine touchdowns and one pick against Michigan State and Indiana.
Other possibilities: Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan and receivers Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman; Penn State speedster KJ Hamler; Wisconsin linebackers Zack Baun and Chris Orr; Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield Jr. and in, a totally fair world, Northwestern defensive end Joe Gaziano.
4. Paul Bunyan’s Axe has never been sharper.
The winner of the Minnesota-Wisconsin game gets the trophy, as the players will pretend to chop down the opponent’s goal post. It is the most-played rivalry in FBS history — 128 games starting in 1890. And get this: The series record is 60-60-8.
You could make a case that Minnesota’s incredible 2019 season started on Nov. 24, 2018. That’s when the Gophers, as 111/2-point underdogs, thrashed the Badgers 37-15 in Madison.
“This,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said after that game, “is why you coach.”
Wisconsin improved to 9-2 after beating Purdue on Saturday. Linebacker Chris Orr addressed the Camp Randall Stadium crowd after the game, saying: “We need as many of y’all up there at Minnesota. We’re going to get our axe back!”
5. Five teams remain in the Rose Bowl hunt.
The highest-ranked Big Ten team not in the College Football Playoff will go to the Rose Bowl. Minnesota has not been to Pasadena since the 1961 season.
If Wisconsin beats Minnesota, the Badgers have a shot to return.
Also possible: Michigan, if it beats Ohio State.
Less likely: Ohio State and Penn State.
Week 13 power rankings
Here are the Tribune’s latest Big Ten power rankings, with last week’s ranking in parentheses:
1. Ohio State (1)
In the Buckeyes’ perfect world, they’d not only beat Michigan and win the Big Ten title game. They’d win big to earn the playoff’s No. 1 seed.
2. Minnesota (2)
Has P.J. Fleck selected his outfit yet for ESPN’s “College GameDay” visit?
3. Wisconsin (4)
You’ve surely heard about Jonathan Taylor’s big day. But how about Zach Hintze booting a school-record 62-yard field goal?
4. Penn State (3)
Impressive freshman quarterback Will Levis got his scholarship offer after Justin Fields decommitted in favor of Georgia.
5. Michigan (5)
The Wolverines’ leading rusher had just 46 yards — and no one cared. Shea Patterson is sizzling.
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6. Iowa (6)
After Keith Duncan set the Big Ten single-season record with his 27th field goal, Hawkeyes fans booed. They wanted Iowa to go for it on fourth-and-1.
7. Indiana (7)
Will the Hoosiers get to craft a storybook ending in the Redbox Bowl?
8. Illinois (8)
Wild guess that stadium operators will crank up “My Kind of Town” if the Illini beat Northwestern in Champaign.
9. Purdue (9)
Danny Hope, Darrell Hazell and Jeff Brohm are a combined 0-10 against Wisconsin.
10. Michigan State (10)
Good news, bad news: The Spartans have to beat Maryland to make a bottom-tier bowl, probably in Detroit.
11. Nebraska (11)
@FauxPelini put it best: I’M EXTREMELY GLAD MARYLAND JOINED THE BIG TEN
12. Northwestern (13)
Every (remaining) Northwestern fan is asking: Hey, Andrew Marty, where have you been all season?
13. Maryland (12)
The Terps were six-point underdogs to Nebraska and lost by 47. On senior day.
14. Rutgers (14)
Number of first downs in the first half: zero. Chance at saving face this season: Less than zero.