Buckeyes on hold; major bowl is likely

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

It figures in this Bowl Championship Series era that No. 6 Ohio State won’t know exactly what it’s accomplished this season until the dust clears.

Saturday, the Buckeyes captured a share of a record-tying sixth straight Big Ten title, battered archrival Michigan to extend a record seven-game winning streak in the series and most likely also captured a berth in a BCS bowl game.

“[We were] not good enough to be the outright Big Ten champions and [get the] automatic bid to the Rose Bowl and all those things that you shoot for,” coach Jim Tressel said after the 37-7 rout of the Wolverines. “But we’re pretty fair.

“And I believe we’re a top-10 football team and we’re probably going to get to play a top-10 football team.”

Wisconsin is on the verge of its first trip to the Rose Bowl since January 2000 after the Badgers remained ahead of Ohio State and Michigan State in the latest BCS standings.

Those three teams tied for the Big Ten title, and the BCS standings are used to break that deadlock. Wisconsin was No. 5 Sunday, with Ohio State one spot behind and Michigan State No. 8.

The final BCS standings come out next weekend, but it’s hard to imagine either of the other teams moving ahead of Wisconsin now that all three have finished their regular seasons.

“It’s kind of hard to make that up in a week when nobody’s playing,” BCS analyst Jerry Palm said. “It’s pretty much a done deal now.”

Theoretically, Wisconsin could still move into the top two and end up in the BCS championship game, but that’s an extremely far-fetched scenario that would almost certainly have to include losses by both Auburn and Oregon next weekend.

If the Badgers go to the Rose Bowl, the other two co-champions will be left to fight for an at-large spot in a BCS bowl. Ohio State is ranked higher in the BCS standings than Michigan State, and if the Buckeyes are offered a BCS invitation, the Spartans would presumably play in the Capital One Bowl.

If they do not pass Wisconsin, the Buckeyes would most likely draw a spot in the Sugar bowl against Arkansas, or maybe the Orange against Virginia Tech.

“It’s unbelievable how blessed I am to play with these guys,” said defensive end Cameron Heyward, a senior who returned despite being projected as a high NFL draft pick. “I’m surrounded by my friends and I’ll always cherish the memories.

“Where we go next doesn’t matter to me. Wherever we go, we’ll go and play our hardest.”

Michigan State is still savoring its first Big Ten title since 1990, but the Spartans wouldn’t mind being higher in the conference pecking order. They beat Wisconsin 34-24 for the Badgers’ only loss so far.

“If Wisconsin is the best one-loss team in the country, we must’ve had the best win in the country,” Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said Sunday night.