Big Ten East Notebook: Regular season could be heading toward familiar ending

Published Nov. 10, 2015 9:15 a.m. ET

Marcus Hartman

Never mind that scary three-way Big Ten divisional tiebreaker scenario.

Nebraska may have taken the College Football Playoff committee off the hook when it comes to picking the representative from the Big Ten East in the conference championship game.

Instead it looks like that will be determined the old-fashioned way: between Ohio State and Michigan.

No, it's not THE Big Ten championship, but it's the next-best thing in today's conference landscape. If the Buckeyes and Wolverines can't play for a Big Ten championship, then at least they could decide who will.

From 1935 (when it was moved to the end of the regular season) to the beginning of divisional play in 2011, The Game determined the Big Ten champion 22 times. In 22 other editions since '35, the outcome had the potential to have major impact in the standings, such as one team clinching a share of the championship or denying the other a crown.

Now it looks like they could be on another collision course after the Cornhuskers upset Michigan State 39-38 on Saturday night with a controversial late touchdown in Lincoln.

The Spartans' setback leaves Ohio State as the only undefeated team in the division, but Michigan State is far from finished.

If they win out -- which would include a win at Ohio Stadium against the defending Big Ten and national champion Buckeyes on Nov. 21 -- the Spartans are headed to Indianapolis as the winners of the East by virtue of head-to-head tiebreakers against OSU and Michigan.

Of course Ohio State controls its own destiny, too. And if the Buckeyes beat Illinois next week then take down the Spartans, OSU would knock MSU out of the race entirely while bringing Michigan back in (again assuming Michigan takes care of business against Indiana and Penn State).

That's because Michigan would get the tiebreaker if they beat the Buckeyes.

The way things look now, that could be a classic, but don't be surprised if neither coach is willing to talk about such possibilities in the next week or two.

While it did not come up during Ohio State coach Urban Meyer's weekly press conference on Monday, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh simply told reporters, "I'm sure they're aware of" the impact of Michigan State's loss on their chances of winning the division.

"If not, we'll make them aware of it," Harbaugh said (via MGoBlog). "But I'm sure they're aware of it."

So you're saying there's a chance?

Technically, Ohio State could clinch a share of the division title Nov. 14, but it looks like a long shot.

The undefeated Buckeyes would have to win at Illinois to improve to 6-0 in conference play while Michigan would have to lose to Indiana and Michigan State would have to lose to Maryland.

Grant making history

Rutgers receiver Janarion Grant picked up his second Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week award after matching history Saturday against Michigan.

The junior returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown against the Wolverines, his third kickoff return for a score this season. That is the most in the nation and ties the Big Ten single-season record already shared by Purdue's Stan Brown (1970) and DeAndra Cobb of Michigan State (2003).

The Big Ten also has the nation's leader in punt return touchdowns this season in Maryland cornerback William Likely, who has two.

Always competing

If Michigan beats Indiana on Saturday, it will be the Wolverines' 20th win in a row against the Hoosiers.

That would match the longest current winning streak in a Big Ten series -- which also includes the Hoosiers, who lost their 20th in a row to Ohio State earlier this year.

Indiana last beat Michigan in 1987 and last topped the Buckeyes in 1990.

Terrorizing quarterbacks

The Big Ten East continues to be home to the two top sack artists in the nation.

Penn State end Carl Nassib leads the country with 1.55 sacks per game while Maryland end Yannick Ngakoue is second at 1.22.

Nassib also leads the country in tackles for loss per game at 2.0.