Week 6 in the Big Ten opened with a jolt Friday night, and it served as a reminder that the league’s middle and bottom can still wreck a neat little forecast. Iowa, Ohio State’s previous opponent, started its road swing against Washington in Seattle, while the top of the conference kept inching farther away from everyone else.
Ohio State sits comfortably in that upper tier, but the Buckeyes are not cruising into the back half of the regular season with the path fully cleared. They enter Saturday’s game against Maryland at 4:15 p.m.
ET on Big Ten Network as a 30-plus-point favorite and remain a legitimate Big Ten title contender. Still, the standings suggest there is work ahead before any talk of an undefeated regular season becomes anything more than a hope.
Next Saturday brings a major checkpoint in Bloomington, where Ohio State faces Indiana in a Big Ten title rematch. That game carries real weight: the winner gets the head-to-head tiebreaker and a chance to keep selling the College Football Playoff Committee on elite status.
The November stretch looks just as tricky. Oregon comes to Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 7, and the Ducks could be shorthanded if quarterback Dante Moore is out. The following week, Northwestern visits Columbus riding the momentum of an outright upset over Penn State this past Friday, a result that makes the Wildcats look a lot more dangerous than the record might suggest.
Then there is Michigan, which may be sliding fast after back-to-back losses to Iowa and Minnesota. At 2-3, the Wolverines may need to run the table or at least afford one more loss to salvage their season. The bigger question, as the source material frames it, is what that means for first-year coach Kyle Whittingham’s standing in Ann Arbor going forward.
That showdown, better known as “The Game,” lands on Thanksgiving weekend, and Ohio State will host it in Columbus. The Buckeyes already handled the trip to Michigan Stadium last year, winning 27-9, and they’ll be looking to carry that momentum into another rivalry-week collision.
The broader lesson from the first month of the Big Ten is that the league has little room for comfort. The belief around the conference is that anybody can beat anybody, and last week’s Cannon Trophy game was the clearest example. Illinois was stunned by Purdue, 24-17, after dropping back-to-back rivalry games.
That result gave Barry Odom his first Big Ten win and pushed Purdue to 2-3. Illinois also fell to 2-3 after back-to-back losses.
Upsets keep coming in college football, and so do field storms. Ohio State knows that feeling too well. The message heading into October is simple: no lead is safe, and neither is home-field advantage.
In Other News...
Ohio State Fans Have A Cheaper Way To Watch Todays Game
For Ohio State fans trying to follow todays game without leaning on cable, the options are more crowded than ever, but also a little more manageable if price is the main concern. The latest rundown of college football streaming services points viewers toward a handful of familiar platforms, including DIRECTV MySports, YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and Fox One, each offering a different mix of live channels, trial periods and monthly costs.
What makes this weeks viewing puzzle interesting is that the cheapest route is not always the most obvious one, especially when channel access can vary by service. For Buckeyes fans, the real challenge is matching the broadcast with a package that actually carries it, which is why the best value option may depend less on name recognition and more on which platform gives the easiest path to the game without forcing viewers into a pricier bundle. [Read more 🡒]
Former Michigan Star Just Reignited The Debate Ohio State Fans Love
Jake Butt briefly reopened one of the most familiar arguments in college football when he suggested in an interview that Michigans 2023 national championship carries an asterisk because of how the sign-stealing scandal has colored public perception. The former Wolverines tight end later took to social media to clarify that he believes those championships were real and earned, but the initial remark was enough to stir up a debate Ohio State fans never seem to tire of revisiting.
For Buckeyes followers, the timing only adds another layer to a rivalry that already lives on edge, especially with Michigan now trying to steady itself through coaching changes and uneven play since Jim Harbaughs departure. Even as Butt walked back the sharper edge of his comment, the larger issue remains unresolved: how much the scandal has damaged the way outsiders view a title that the program still claims as legitimate. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Freshman RBs Shrinking Role Now Carries A Bigger Concern
Legend Beys role in Ohio States backfield has already been sliding, and the freshman running back has not appeared in the last two games after seeing only limited action earlier in the season. For a program that keeps a close eye on the development and availability of every scholarship player, a young runner disappearing from the rotation is notable on its own, especially when the Buckeyes are trying to sort out depth behind the established options.
The bigger concern is what has been happening away from the field. Bey was reportedly cited for speeding and allegedly evicted from his apartment for nonpayment of rent, adding another layer of uncertainty around a player whose playing time has already been shrinking. It is still unclear whether those off-field matters are tied to his reduced role, and the coaching staff has not confirmed any connection, leaving the situation open as one more item to monitor around the Buckeyes. [Read more 🡒]