Ohio State gets exactly what they want and more through the Big Ten’s gifts in rematch with Clemson football
The CFB Playoff committee announced the semifinals for the 2020 season and, for the sixth-straight season, Clemson football will be included.
The Tigers are the No. 2 seed in the playoff bracket and will take on the No. 3-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA on New Year’s Day. On the other side of the bracket, the No. 1-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the No. 4-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Rose Bowl Game, which is slated to take place in Arlington, TX this year instead of its traditional home of Pasadena, CA.
One of the most intriguing off-the-field stories for Clemson football fans and, really, the entire CFB Playoff discussion is how everything has simply catered to Ohio State. The Buckeyes have only played six games and are still included in the playoff despite playing basically half the season that the other three teams in the playoff field have played.
If it wasn’t bad enough that the Buckeyes were basically getting in off their name alone (as analysts cited the ‘eye test’ as the reason they should be in), it’s been an absolute ‘folding & bow down effect’ from the Big Ten conference.
The Big Ten has changed yet another rule for Ohio State to have a bigger advantage against Clemson football
The Big Ten changed its rule that teams have to play at least six games to compete in the conference championship after it was apparent that the Buckeyes wouldn’t be able to play that many.
Ohio State was without more than 20 players, including several starters- many due to COVID-19 restrictions- for the Big Ten Championship game, but that won’t be the case for the CFB Playoff. Though the Big Ten put a rule into place at the beginning of the season that players who tested positive would have to be held out for 21 days, it seems the conference will fold on that rule, as well.
Cleveland.com’s Nathan Baird reported that multiple Big Ten sources had told him that they would be adjusting their quarantine guidelines.
Multiple league sources told https://t.co/ZykHGOmhrF the Big Ten will adjust its quarantine guidelines for athletes who test positive for coronavirus to align with CDC recommendations.
— Nathan Baird (@nwbaird) December 20, 2020
The implications for Ohio State football are potentially significant. https://t.co/9AwoQpQf1o
Why? You might ask. Well, having that rule adjusted allows Ohio State to get back players for the Clemson game who wouldn’t be available otherwise.
The Buckeyes were depleted and could potentially even be ineligible to play by the Big Ten standards if more of an outbreak proved to be present, but with the change of the rule, they’ll be able to get players back on the active roster faster and be able to compete.
It’s just another rule the Big Ten has catered to change just at the perfect time for OSU.
At some point, you have to wonder if Ohio State just rules the conference’s decision-making anyway. All of the ‘hard-passes’ and strict guidelines that were so prevalent back in August and September from chancellors and presidents of the conference have suddenly been lifted when it came time to have that potential playoff money and to give the Buckeyes a chance at revenge and a National Championship.
The rules for the conference might be catered towards the Buckeyes, but Clemson is ready and that’s not going to affect the Tigers when they play just a couple of weeks from now.