The confetti has just finished falling from the conference championship weekend. The College Football Playoff selection committee has been poring over the tape, and now, we have answers. How far was Ohio State going to fall after losing to Indiana? Who will Oregon’s first-round opponent be? Thankfully, it felt like the Big Ten didn’t have any teams on the bubble like the other Power 4 conferences. As a result, three Big Ten teams are still alive to extend the conference’s title streak, led by the top overall seed once again.
The Big Ten Sends Three to the College Football Playoff
#1 Indiana
The Hoosiers did exactly what they had to do to beat Ohio State in Indianapolis. Curt Cignetti had a great game plan, took advantage of the few issues on the Buckeyes’ roster, and led his team to its first Big Ten title since 1967 and its first outright title since 1945. Imagine two years ago saying Indiana would make the CFP the next two seasons. And, in the second season, it would go 13-0, beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and finish as the top-overall seed in the CFP.
The Hoosiers gashed Ohio State’s vaunted defense for 340 yards, the most the Buckeyes have allowed this year. While the Fernando Mendoza-led offense only scored 13, it was enough. The Heisman favorite responded to everything the Buckeyes threw at him and finished the game with 222 yards and a touchdown through the air. Those may not be Heisman-worthy on paper, but he led the Hoosiers down the field and was only really derailed by sacks. He enters the CFP with 2,980 yards and an FBS-leading 33 passing touchdowns.
The Hoosier defense was incredible all year and kept it up against Ohio State. The unit enters postseason play with the second-best scoring defense, third-best rushing defense, and fifth-best total defense. Indiana has four players with double-digit tackles for loss, and has come down with 17 interceptions this year. Six of those have come from Louis Moore, who nearly had a pick-six against the Buckeyes.
Indiana is primed to make a run. This Hooiser team is for real.
The Hoosiers will play the winner of Oklahoma and Alabama at the Rose Bowl on January 1.
#2 Ohio State
For the first time in over a year, the Buckeyes lost a game. Ohio State fell to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, 13-10. It was the first time the Hooisers beat the Buckeyes since 1988, and they did so by exploiting the only major weakness on the team. In addition to that, the Buckeyes didn’t help themselves out. Jayden Fielding missed a 27-yard chip-shot with under three minutes to go. If he had made the kick, the game would have been tied up with the Buckeyes having a full arsenal of timeouts. Instead, here we are. The Buckeyes will be in the Cotton Bowl
Ryan Day had his Michigan moment against Indiana. The Buckeyes’ offense did not look prepared. Even when it was able to move down the field, Ohio State stopped looking to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate to do what they do best.
Regardless, the Buckeyes won their way to a first-round bye. The best scoring, passing, and total defense still reside in Columbus (and fifth-best rushing defense). Julian Sayin was still solid in the loss despite being thrown to the wolves by the right side of his offensive line. He heads into the postseason with 3,323 yards and 31 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He still leads the nation with 78.6% completion percentage.
Defensively, there is still a lot to love. Future first-round picks Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, and Caleb Downs are among the best at their positions. Kayden McDonald will be crucial to keeping the rushing attacks under control.
The Buckeyes will be fine; they just need to learn from the narrow loss.
#5 Oregon
The forgotten piece atop the Big Ten has been Oregon ever since that 30-20 loss to Indiana back in October. It’s a minor miracle the Ducks are in this position with how many injuries they’ve had to battle through. Regardless, Dan Lanning’s recruiting and portal acquisitions have stepped up to make the losses feel minimal. There was plenty of talk on whether or not Oregon deserved to be ranked so high, considering that for the majority of the year, the only good team it faced was Indiana…and it lost. Then, Oregon beat USC by multiple scores and dispatched rival Washington in the final week of the season. Oregon could meet Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Dante Moore has played his way into potential first-round consideration, should he declare for next Spring’s NFL Draft. He’s quietly thrown for 2,733 yards and 26 touchdowns. If you remember, he went into this season with a massive question mark at the receiver position due to a host of injuries. As a result, tight end Kenyon Sadiq has led the way. The Mackey Award finalist enters postseason play with 490 yards and eight touchdowns. True freshmen Dakorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellan finished the regular season as the third and fourth-best receivers, statistically.
Speaking of freshmen, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. have stepped up behind Noah Whittington. Davison leads the way with 13 touchdowns to go with 535 yards.
The defense is just as strong with Teitum Tuitoi leading the push up front and Bryce Boettcher once again commanding the linebackers. As a unit, Oregon finished the regular season eighth in scoring, third in passing, fourth in total defense, and 20th in rushing.
The Ducks are an under-the-radar choice to win it all. They have the talent to do it, but they did last year, too.
Oregon drew James Madison in a first-round matchup. The two will face off in Eugene on December 19/20. Oregon and James Madison have never faced off. If the Ducks advance, they’ll take on Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.
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