Northwestern clinches the Big Ten West despite not playing Saturday — but its opponent in the conference title game is up in the air
CHICAGO — Despite not playing Saturday, No. 14 Northwestern clinched the Big Ten West Division title for a berth in the conference championship game.
This is the second time in three seasons the Wildcats (5-1) have won the division title; they lost to Ohio State, 45-24, in the 2018 Big Ten final. The 2020 title game is scheduled for Dec. 19 in Indianapolis.
Northwestern qualified without competing because of Big Ten rules for how many games must be played to be eligible. Only three games needed to be played Saturday for the Wildcats to clinch and eliminate No. 16 Wisconsin from contention.
The Wildcats’ game Saturday against Minnesota was canceled because of COVID-19 cases within the Gophers program that forced a pause in team activities. Northwestern will finish its regular season at home against Illinois on Dec. 12, looking for its sixth straight victory in the series.
According to Stadium, Big Ten athletic directors are likely to push for rule changes to allow No. 4 Ohio State (5-0) to qualify for the title game as the East Division champion even if it can’t play a sixth conference game. If the Buckeyes win the Big Ten title, it likely would guarantee them a College Football Playoff spot.
The Big Ten rules require six games played to qualify for the championship. The Buckeyes had games canceled at Maryland on Nov. 14 because of positive cases in the Terrapins program and at Illinois on Nov. 28 with positive cases in their program.
Ohio State beat Michigan State, 52-12, on Saturday. The Buckeyes are scheduled to play their season finale against Michigan on Dec. 12, but the game is in jeopardy because of an outbreak within the Wolverines program.
Northwestern won its first five games, highlighted by a 17-7 victory against then-No. 10 Wisconsin on Nov. 21. The Wildcats followed with a 29-20 loss at Michigan State on Nov. 28.
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