This is like Wisconsin in 1993 or Northwestern in 1995. It is 2024 in Indiana, and this is one of the stranger college football stories of the year.
The Hoosier football team is 10-0 for the first time ever, so it is time to dream REALLY, REALLY big. Now that it is over with the fun, it is time to get serious. There is still work to be done.
What will happen to Michigan, Indiana, the Big Ten, and the College Football Playoff now?
Indiana 20, Michigan 15
Indiana will be in the College Football Playoff.
At the very least, it will almost certainly make the College Football Playoff.
Though it probably will not win at Ohio State because of the rivalry, it should easily beat Purdue.
There is absolutely no way that an 11-1 Hoosier team would not make the CFP. In fact, over the last ten years of final rankings, there has been no way that an 11-1 Power Four or then Power Five team would not make a 12-team playoff. That means…
Indiana might catch a fantastic break if it doesn’t play in the Big Ten Championship.
Of course, the Hoosiers would like to be in the Big Ten Championship and have a chance to play for the title. But if they go 11-1, they will be in great shape—maybe even better shape.
Let us say that Ohio State beats Indiana. With an 11-1 record, it is likely to get a seed between 5 and 8.
That means they would have an extra week to rest without having to play a 13th game. The 13th game would be in late December in Bloomington, Indiana. It is not a bad deal, and
We are going to talk about Indiana and the College Football Playoff. This is crazy.
So what now for Michigan?
All of a sudden, the home game against Northwestern means the world.
The defending national champion is 5-5 and still has to make the trip to Columbus to deal with a slightly grouch Ohio State team. Lose to the Wildcats, and Michigan almost certainly doesn’t even get to go to a bowl game.
But it probably will beat NU and get a decent bowl somewhere, but good luck getting fired up for that after the last three seasons.
Big Ten Tie-Breakers. So what’s going to happen now?
– There’s still work to do – Oregon is playing Maryland as we speak – but realistically, let’s assume Ohio State gets by Indiana next week. If it doesn’t, Indiana is playing for the Big Ten Championship.
– If the Buckeyes win, thanks to the win over Penn State, beat Indiana, and they’re playing in the title game with a win over Michigan.
– Penn State needs Ohio State to beat Indiana and lose to Michigan, and then it gets into the tie-breaker scenarios. In that case, Penn State probably gets the nod over IU thanks to the win over Illinois – and assuming the Nittany Lions beat Minnesota and Maryland to close.
– Oregon will be in if it wins one of its last two against Wisconsin or Washington, assuming its current lead over Maryland holds up.
