Crescent-News.com - BUCKEYES BUZZ: What's brewing today with the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes

COLUMBUS -- What's brewing today with the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes ...

BUCKEYES BUZZ: It's all pretty simple for Ohio State, at least in terms of what the Buckeyes need to do.

... They beat Michigan at noon on Saturday, they get a share of a fourth consecutive Big Ten title.

... Lose and they not only don't get a piece of the championship, they're headed for a second-tier bowl game.

Beyond that, it's all a big, fat guess right now.

If Penn State wins at home against Michigan State in a battle of the other two co-leaders, then the Nittany Lions get the Big Ten's automatic Bowl Championship Series berth, most likely in the Rose Bowl.

Beyond that, the Buckeyes could still end up in a BCS bowl game, in the Fiesta or in a Florida bowl game. We'll all have to wait to find out.

In the bigger picture, this may be the final regular season weekend for the Big Ten but there are still a multitude of questions regarding bowls, those involving conference teams or not. There are just too many dominoes yet to fall. In the BCS era, not many bowl decisions can be made (at least among the elite bowls) until it's been decided who's in the national championship game. And we won't know who's playing in that until Alabama and Florida meet at 4 p.m. on Dec. 6.

Anybody tells you they've got a grasp on the bowl picture before then, don't buy it.

LOST WEEKEND: Remember when Michigan-Ohio State week was really special?

Now Michigan is 3-8, the first time the Wolverines have failed to win TWO games in a row in a season since 1962.

And, truth be told, there's not a real groundswell of excitement in Columbus, either. A small percentage of Ohio State's bandwagon fans jumped off when the national championship was no longer a possibility.

Then there is an element of Buckeye Nation that would just as soon the Buckeyes NOT go to a BCS bowl game, such as the Rose (where it might draw a rematch with USC and get tagged with an embarrassing, season-ending loss for a third time in as many years).

As a result, many fans are rooting for the Buckeyes, but also have their fingers crossed that they somehow draw a matchup with the champion of the ACC or Big East, two conferences which are even further down the pecking order of quality leagues than the Big Ten is. Maybe that way Ohio State's followers would have a smile on their faces all winter, instead of carrying around another lopsided loss until spring football starts up again in April.

With cold weather forecast for Saturday, Periscope bets that there'll be a lot of tickets available on e-Bay and from ticket brokers this week.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS: Michigan S Brandon Harrison: "If we can come out and beat O-State that would clear everything up."

QUESTION OF THE DAY: SportingNews.com posed the following to its readers:

"Hiring Rich Rodriguez will ...

a) Haunt Michigan for many years

b) Start paying off next season

c) Bring Michigan a national title within five years

d) Come full circle when he bails for a better team"

The votes were still being tabulated late Sunday.

POLLING PLACE: Saturday's 30-20 win over Illinois kept the Buckeyes at No. 10 in the AP's Top 25. If you tried to find a quality game to watch on TV last weekend, you found out it was the weakest week for college football. There were almost no upsets anywhere, and almost no games of any import, it seemed.

Need evidence? The top 16 teams in the AP poll held the same positions from a week earlier.

In the latest BCS rankings, the Buckeyes climbed up a notch from 11th to 10th.

Here are the top 10, in order: Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, USC, Utah, Penn State, Boise State and Ohio State.

INCIDENTALLY: Periscope reiterates: Anybody telling you they know the bowl picture now is full of it.

Still, that being said, that doesn't prevent people from putting in their two cents.

CBSsportsline.com has the Buckeyes meeting Texas Tech in the Fiesta Bowl. Odds of it happening: 1 in 20.

ESPN.com pits Ohio State vs. Georgia (which is No. 11 in the BCS) in the Capital One Bowl. Odds: 5 to 4.

CollegeFootballNews.com has the Buckeyes taking on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Odds: 1 in 20

SportsProjections.com figures Ohio State to meet Oklahoma in the Fiesta. Odds: 1 in 50

Rivals.com's crystal ball as a rematch of USC and Ohio State in the Rose. Odds: 1 in 75