Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 10: Ohio State back in the playoff mix

For Ohio State fans, they’ve been waiting for this type of win since Week 5. Ever since they blew out Rutgers at home, things haven’t been the same for them. They beat Indiana 38-17, but J.T. Barrett finished 9-for-21 with an interception. They needed overtime to beat Wisconsin, but you could make the case that the better team lost. They had a 21-7 lead over Penn State heading into the fourth, then lost. And against Northwestern, they weren’t assured of victory until their final drive.

But this win was a return to normalcy for the Buckeyes. Their Penn State loss is looking better each week, and now they have a blowout over a top 10 team to boast to the Playoff Committee. People will try to play down Nebraska’s merits as a top 10 team, and the Buckeyes certainly exposed them for what they really are, but facts are facts.

J.T. played his best game in a long while, as he finished 26-for-38 with 329 total yards and four touchdowns. He spread the ball around, but his best connections were with Curtis Samuel. Samuel finished with 178 yards from scrimmage, and two touchdowns. But the best one came at the end of the first half, when Barrett channeled his inner Tim Tebow:

While Tebow is still the OG when it comes to that move, it’s not the first time Barrett has done it. He did the same thing last year against Penn State.

But this was a complete team effort on offense. They racked up 590 total yards, and didn’t punt once. It’s not like Nebraska’s a pushover, too. They came into Week 10 ranked first nationally in interceptions, and 15th nationally in points allowed, yet they got lit up by Barrett.

At this point, it would be almost impossible to turn away the Buckeyes if they win the Big Ten. Because no matter how good Lamar Jackson and Louisville are playing, if they win out, the Buckeyes would hold wins over Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. All of those teams were ranked at the time they played them, while the first three were inside of the Top 10.

For all of Ohio State’s struggles earlier, they have an offensive and defensive unit that’s ranked Top 10 in the country. They have all the weapons needed to make a national title run, but the hard part remains getting there. At least with this win, they allayed any concerns people might’ve had about their playoff hopes being over after Week 8.