Michigan AD 'open' to allowing Ohio State in Big Ten title game without playing minimum six games

Warde Manuel does not believe the Buckeyes should be penalized for the Wolverines' cancellation

Ohio State should be allowed a path to the Big Ten Championship Game, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said Tuesday. The Buckeyes, for the moment, have fallen short of a league requirement to play at least six games in order to qualify for the title game when their game against the Wolverines was canceled due to COVID-19.

The Big Ten decided in September, prior to starting an eight-game season, that it would require teams to play at least six of the scheduled games in order to protect the integrity of the championship game. Big Ten ADs, coaches and presidents unanimously supported that concept, sources told CBS Sports.

Manuel on Tuesday became the first -- and most significant -- Big Ten official to support the concept of the league's highest-ranked team playing for the Big Ten title despite it being likely to fall below that threshold.

"I don't believe that anybody at Ohio State or any other team should be punished for decisions that we made by looking at eight games and saying, 'We should play six,'" Manuel said during a Zoom call with reporters, "not knowing the effects of what happens to them and their team versus what happens to our team.

"I would be open -- and I think the conference would be open -- to having a discussion about whether or not we should make adjustments."

Manuel is one of 14 Big Ten ADs who will be meeting Wednesday morning in a regularly scheduled call where the subject of adjusting the eligibility requirements expected to be discussed.

Only three teams in the College Football Playoff Rankings have played fewer games than the No. 4 Buckeyes (5-0). If they are not allowed to play in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Big Ten could decide to rescind that six-game requirement. If that's the case, Ohio State would have already clinched a spot in the title game against No. 14 Northwestern.

If not, the Big Ten could conceivably find another Big Ten opponent for Saturday. The only possibility seems to be Maryland, which canceled its Ohio State game earlier this season. But that would require Maryland's opponent, Rutgers, to agree not to play the Terrapins.

Short of becoming Big Ten champions, an undefeated Ohio State would be competing for the CFP in an at-large spot against the likes of No. 5 Texas A&M (7-1) and No. 7 Cincinnati (8-0). That's not including a possible undefeated Pac-12 champion in No. 20 USC (4-0). 

An undefeated Ohio State as a Big Ten champion (at 6-0) could still possibly be boxed out of the top four if Florida and Clemson win their respectively league championship games.

"I want to make it clear. I think Ohio State is one of the top four teams in this country," Manuel said. "[It] deserves the opportunity and conversation about their success this season and would be a great representative to the College Football Playoff if they are chosen. I'm going work with my colleagues in the Big Ten and commissioner [Kevin] Warren to help make the best decision."

Manuel also said he was open to playing Ohio State on Dec. 19. That date has been reserved for Big Ten teams not in the championship game to play an additional game against a corresponding team from the opposite division. 

The number of Michigan positives wasn't revealed, but it was believed to be significant – perhaps nearly four dozen players. The Ohio State-Michigan game had been played continually since 1918. The Buckeyes have won eight in a row, the most in the series since Michigan won nine in a row from 1901-09.

"I don't think we should just hunker down and say, 'Well, we said six, so that's going to be it,'" Manuel said. "The conversations deserves to happen to see how if we can have any adjustments made. This is unprecedented times and we need to make sure we are flexible and able to move."