Despite what it may have felt like on Saturday night, Ohio State’s season is not over.
The Buckeyes will have to put that Iowa loss behind them, and get ready to play Michigan State in a game that will all but clinch the Big Ten East division title for the winner.
It will also play a major role in deciding whether the Buckeyes spend the holidays in a New Year’s Six bowl or in the kind of afterthought game they’ve only played in recently during the disastrous 2011 season.
The Buckeyes have played in a BCS or New Year’s Six bowl game in 10 of the last 12 seasons. One of the misses was the result of the other. The unbeaten 2012 team sat at home because of a bowl ban they served after opting to attend the Gator Bowl a year earlier, following “Tatgate.”
Don’t book your tickets just yet. The destination could vary pretty significantly depending on what OSU manages to do in the next three weeks, whether they play in the Big Ten Championship game, and whether they win it.
The only thing that’s certain is that if the Buckeyes win out, beating MSU, Illinois, Michigan and the Big Ten West champion, they will be in a New Year’s Six game. Any loss before bowl season opens the team up to a much wider, and less appealing, range of destinations.
Here’s a look at where several national outlets think the Buckeyes could end up. ESPN has two different people do projections, so they’re included twice.
SI.com: Peach Bowl vs. UCF
ESPN.com: Peach Bowl vs. UCF
ESPN.com: Cotton Bowl vs. USC
Sporting News: Orange Bowl vs. Miami
Bleacher Report: Fiesta Bowl vs. USC
CBS Sports: Citrus Bowl vs. Auburn
SB Nation: Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona