For several weeks now it has been a four-team race and nothing has changed there. Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana all control their own destiny while Penn State is in the race mathematically but they need help and they are running out of time. The contenders:
8-0 Oregon:
- Off this week
- vs 4-4 Washington next week
7-0 Indiana:
- at 6-1 Ohio State this week
- vs 0-7 Purdue next week
6-1 Ohio State
- vs 7-0 Indiana this week
- vs 3-4 Michigan next week
6-1 Penn State
- at 4-3 Minnesota this week
- vs 1-6 Maryland next week
Another factor that could play a role is the cumulative league records of these teams' league opponents. Those are:
- .531 Ohio State's opponents are 34-30
- .424 Penn State's opponents are 28-38
- .400 Oregon's opponents are 26-39
- .354 Indiana's opponents are 23-42
The Indiana/Ohio State winner is in great shape but if that winner is Ohio State, they still need to win their final game. If it is Indiana they don't need to beat Purdue. Even with a loss at home to Purdue, a Hoosier team with a win over tOSU would be 7-1 and the tiebreaker in a two-team tie with PSU would end up being record against the best B1G team, then the next, etc. Indiana would win that because tOSU would finish with a better record than Purdue. The same factor would get IU in even in the event of a three-way tie between them, Oregon, and Penn State.
Thus, IU is playing for a spot in the CG.
Oregon is REALLY close to being a lock. They get into the CG in any potential three-way tie but there is a possibility that they would miss it in the event of a four-way tie with IU, tOSU, and PSU. As of right now, the winners of that would be tOSU and PSU based on opponents' opponents' records, see above.
What Penn State needs:
In a word, chaos.
First things first, the Nittany Lions need Ohio State to beat IU. If the Buckeyes lose, the CG is a done deal between Oregon and IU.
The problem for PSU is that after a tOSU win over IU (which they need), they are STILL only in a three-way tie with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers. Ohio State would win that tie and either tOSU or IU would win a two-way tie with PSU so beyond tOSU beating IU they need either:
- Oregon to lose at home to UWash and the others to win thus creating a 4-way tie that, as of right now, PSU finishes second in and second is good enough for one of the two spots in the CG. OR
- Ohio State AND Indiana to lose their Rivalry Weekend games thus dropping the Buckeyes and Hoosiers both to 7-2.
Short version:
You can kinda "pencil in" Oregon vs tOSU/IU winner" but there are a few scenarios in which it doesn't work out that way.