How many Big Ten teams make the College Football Playoff? Oregon State, Ohio State Forecast

The Big Ten Conference has three undefeated programs: the No. 1 Oregon Ducks, the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions and the No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers, with the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes having just a single loss had to take, breathing down their necks.

Tood Blackledge, NBC’s Big Ten Saturday Night analyst and 1982 quarterback national champion with Penn State, believes the conference can add three of those members to the 12-team College Football Playoff field.

“I think right now you’re looking at Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State. I’m thinking about these three right now. Then I think Indiana, depending on Kurtis Rourke and the situation, I think those four teams are certainly very likely contenders. “Illinois may be a step below, but I think those four teams are certainly serious contenders .”

– NBC’s Todd Blackledge

Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s goal is to win the next game. With the regular season complete, each of the three currently undefeated programs will be aiming to compete for and win the Big Ten Conference title. The winner at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, will receive a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, December 7th.

With Oregon, Penn State and Indiana not playing each other, crazy scenarios arise as to who reserves the right if everyone finishes with an undefeated regular season record:

1. Compete against all common conference opponents.

2. Compete against common opponents with the best conference records.

3. Best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents.

4. Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team rating score metric) after the regular season.

5. Random draw between equal teams by the commissioner or a designee.

After dismantling Nebraska 56-7, the toughest game the Hoosiers have left appears to be a road trip to Ohio State on November 23rd. Before the Buckeyes host the Hoosiers, they travel to Penn State on November 2nd. The winner of this game could potentially punch their ticket to the Big Ten Championship Game.

Blackedge is the most skeptical of the Hoosiers right now because quarterback Kurtis Rourke’s health is uncertain following successful thumb surgery. Rourke will miss Indiana’s game against Washington on Saturday, October 26th, but is expected to be back under center on Saturday, November 2nd at Michigan State.

Will Indiana become the fourth Big Ten team to make the College Football Playoff this season? Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State are some distance away from the Hoosiers in the AP Top 25 poll.

According to Blackledge, there is no uncertainty about quarterback Dillon Gabriel and what he has been able to do for the Ducks this season.

“I think Dillon Gabriel is really interesting. . . . He’s coming in, he’s an older guy, he’s coming out of a situation that maybe wasn’t good for him in the end. . . . The way the team rallies around him is very, very impressive. Not just his numbers on the field, but also his impact on the team. He’s a completely different personality than Bo Nix, but from a competitive and leadership perspective they are very, very similar.”

– NBC’s Todd Blackledge

Next up for Oregon is an important game: the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini comes to Autzen Stadium on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT. The first edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings will be released on Tuesday, November 5th.