The Michigan football team, unable to rein in a coronavirus outbreak now in its second week, canceled its game Saturday with fourth-ranked Ohio State, dealing a more threatening blow to the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes than the Wolverines seemed equipped to do on the field.
Ohio State desperately needs to play this weekend — or persuade the Big Ten to rewrite its rules — to have enough games in this herky-jerky pandemic season to qualify for the conference title game scheduled for Dec. 19.
If not, the Buckeyes — who are behind Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson in the College Football Playoff rankings — would have to argue that they should remain in that spot despite having played fewer games than other contenders, like one-loss Texas A&M and unbeaten Cincinnati, who are expected to play nine games.