Ohio State is one canceled game away from no longer qualifying for the Big Ten championship game, but Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez is confident the league's athletic directors wouldn't let that happen.
Under the current Big Ten rules, a team must play six regular-season games in order to qualify for the Big Ten championship game in December. But if Ohio State falls short of that requirement – especially as a national title contender – Alvarez says the league would have to reconsider the rule.
"I think if something were to happen to Ohio State and they'd have to cancel another game, that's something that we've got to revisit," Alvarez told The Detroit News. "They're sitting up there still ranked No. 4. Our league can't keep them from having the opportunity if they have a chance to be in the finals."
According to Alvarez, the decision to reconsider the six-game minimum is up to the Big Ten's athletic directors, and those are the types of conversations they're already having in their weekly meetings.
"We meet weekly. Those are things we discuss," Alvarez said. "We may make some adjustments on that last week. That's sort of a flexible week of scheduling. But those are things we talk about and certainly you've got to consider, or reconsider."
As it stands, Ohio State has played four games with two regular-season games remaining on the schedule. If the Buckeyes are unable to play either its Michigan State or Michigan games – which is a possibility given the Wolverines' current COVID-19 situation – then their total number of games would fall below the six-game threshold, unless they were able to schedule a replacement game.
