Pennsylvania, Michigan – not Ohio

Ohio State has dominated the Big Ten for so long and with such brute force that it’s hard to imagine another team advancing to the Buckeyes’ place as the major league contender for the College Football Playoff game. I have facilitated three weeks of the 2021 season imagined. The door was opened for another team to win the conference: OSU squabbled again on Saturday, following last weekend’s disappointing loss against Oregon by battling to oust Tulsa, while the two eastern division rivals – Pennsylvania and Michigan – look poised to replace The Buckeyes are like a team to beat, just as Clemson’s early loss and questionable offense led to randomness in the ACC, the Buckeyes’ inability to rediscover last year’s form could spell havoc in what was a dull, predictable chase. Looking weak – although Crimson Tide is still the team to beat – this year’s National Semifinalists could be filled with power programs like Penn State and Michigan. Even before entering the post-season phase, the idea that a team other than OSU could win Big Ten trophies ran counter to nearly every pre-season prediction and outcome of the past decade. Since hiring Urban Meyer in 2012 and promoting Ryan Day in 2019, the Buckeyes have lost only four regular conference games and have held the past four conference championships. Michigan moved to 3-0 with a 63-10 win over Northern Illinois and began playing the league at home next Saturday against Rutgers. Nor did Penn State lose after Auburn topped 28-20 in prime time, Nittany Lions’ second win in three weeks against a competitor ranked in the TODAY Sports AFCA’s USA Coaches Poll. Washington and New York with a total of 107 points. With a fresh start at Cade McNamara in the quarterback, coach Jim Harbaugh drew on the ground game to produce the program’s most productive three-game stretch in a decade. In the Tigers and Wisconsin, PSU now holds what may be the two most impressive wins of any team in the country. In games against the Ducks, the Golden Hurricane and Minnesota, both teams playing at a high level after their struggles during the 2020 season speak of the unpredictability of 2021 and the difficulties of relying on any takeaways from a pandemic year to predict how this regular season will turn out. In 2020, Penn State opened 0-5 for the first time in modern history before winning four consecutive goals. Michigan went 2-4 and seemed directionless enough in the process to put Harbaugh firmly in the hot seat before September, and one year later, it’s clear that 2020 was a two-program aberration that posed the biggest threats to the Buckeyes’ dominance of the Big Ten. For the first time in years, the conference appears open to participation. Follow college reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg