Ohio State could face Michigan for the Big Ten crown, and this is how it could happen

The Ohio State Buckeyes are one win away from completing a perfect regular season, punching their ticket to the Big Ten Championship Game, and after that the College Football Playoff awaits, with the opportunity within grasp to achieve the first back-to-back National titles in school history.

Of course, the remaining matchup is huge, as their yearly matchup against Michigan is one of the biggest draws not only for college football’s rivalry week, but for the whole season.

However, for the first time in the history of this illustrious series, Buckeyes and Wolverines could find themselves set for a rematch as part of the same campaign. Yes, 1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0) and 18 Michigan (9-2, 7-1) could square off again, in Indianapolis, with the Big Ten crown on the line, right after meeting in Ann Arbor to finish off their respective regular seasons.

How can this become a reality? Well, three things need to occur on the final weekend of regular season play, and Purdue and Washington would have to chip in.

First of all, Purdue (2-9, 0-8) would need to pull off a monumental upset over 2 Indiana (11-0, 8-0) on Friday. Keep in mind, though, the Hoosiers are overwhelming favorites at -27.5 as hosts to the Boilermakers -- the worst team in the conference -- so this component would have the longest odds to become a reality.

Secondly, Michigan needs to knock off Ohio State at home. That would give Wolverines and Buckeyes an identical 8-1 conference record, but would place Michigan over Ohio State in the tie-breaker criteria, thanks to the head-to-head result. The Wolverines are currently 13.5 underdogs at home.

Finally, Washington (8-3, 5-3) would need a road victory over 7 Oregon (10-1) to put the Buckeyes back into the Big Ten Championship Game, instead of the Ducks. Out of all three results needed, the Huskies defeating Oregon at Autzen Stadium has the shortest odds among all three underdogs, at -11.5. In this scenario, Ohio State would get the nod over Indiana because the Hoosiers would be the only team to lose to the Boilermakers, a common rival with Michigan and Ohio State.

Of course, Ohio State would want to avoid at all costs having Purdue and Washington decide if they could squeak into the Big Ten Championship Game, and the only way to avoid that is by beating Michigan, and then find out if they have to play Indiana or Oregon in Indianapolis.

“We want to get to Indy, we haven’t got to Indy here. There is nobody on this team that has been to Indy right now, and they know it,” said Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day recently regarding the Big Ten Championship Game as one of the team’s objectives this year. Ohio State hasn’t been crowned in its conference since the 2020 season, a period that coincides with a four-game losing skid against Michigan after beating the Wolverines eight straight years.

So yeah, while having an Ohio State vs Michigan game could sound enticing to the casual fan outside Columbus, the Buckeyes are focused on bigger and better things than splitting games this year with their most hated rival.

Beating Michigan in Ann Arbor would seal a perfect regular season, punch their ticket to Indy, and give them plenty of momentum heading into the CFP as the No. 1 team in the country.