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BUCKEYES BUZZ: It's all pretty simple for Ohio State, at least in terms of what the Buckeyes need to do.
• They beat Michigan at noon on Saturday, they get a share of a fourth consecutive Big Ten title.
• Lose and they not only don't get a piece of the championship, they're headed for a second-tier bowl game.
Beyond that, it's all a big, fat guess right now.
If Penn State wins at home against Michigan State in a battle of the other two co-leaders, then the Nittany Lions get the Big Ten's automatic Bowl Championship Series berth, most likely in the Rose Bowl.
Beyond that, the Buckeyes could still end up in a BCS bowl game, in the Fiesta or in a Florida bowl game.
In the bigger picture, this may be the final regular season weekend for the Big Ten but there are still a multitude of questions regarding bowls, those involving conference teams or not. There are just too many dominoes yet to fall.
In the BCS era, not many bowl decisions can be made (at least among the elite bowls) until it's been decided who's in the national championship game. And we won't know who's playing in that until Alabama and Florida meet at 4 p.m. on Dec. 6.
Anybody tells you they've got a grasp on the bowl picture before then, don't buy it.
LOST WEEKEND of Nov. 22, 2008: Remember when Michigan-Ohio State week was really special?
Now Michigan is 3-8, the first time the Wolverines have failed to win TWO games in a row in a season since 1962.
And, truth be told, there's not a real groundswell of excitement in Columbus, either. A small percentage of Ohio State's bandwagon fans jumped off when the national championship was no longer a possibility.
Then there is an element of Buckeye Nation that would just as soon the Buckeyes NOT go to a BCS bowl game, such as the Rose (where it might draw a rematch with USC and get tagged with an embarrassing, season-ending loss for a third time in as many years).
As a result, many fans are rooting for the Buckeyes, but also have their fingers crossed that they somehow draw a matchup with the champion of the ACC or Big East, two conferences which are even further down the pecking order of quality leagues than the Big Ten is. Maybe that way, Ohio State's followers would have a smile on their faces all winter, instead of carrying around another lopsided loss until spring football starts up again in April.
With cold weather forecast for Saturday, Periscope bets that there'll be a lot of tickets available on e-Bay and from ticket brokers this week.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS: Michigan S Brandon Harrison: ``If we can come out and beat O-State that would clear everything up.''
QUESTION OF THE DAY: SportingNews.com posed the following to its readers:
``Hiring Rich Rodriguez will ...
a) Haunt Michigan for many years;
b) Start paying off next season;
c) Bring Michigan a national title within five years;
d) Come full circle when he bails for a better team.”
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