One week stands between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines renewing "The Game" in Ann Arbor.
With the College Football Playoff around the corner, there is still much to be decided across the conference landscape, more specifically, as it relates to the Buckeyes.
Should it beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this Saturday in Columbus, it sets up a rivalry matchup of epic proportions, where if the Buckeyes were beaten by their arch rival once again, a berth to the Big Ten title game is toast.
That's how USA Today's Paul Myerberg framed it: "a nightmare scenario" that could see the Buckeyes not get a first-round bye and deny them an unbeaten season.
"Lose to Michigan for the fifth time in a row. That would knock the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and could knock them out of the top four, though there would be soft landing somewhere around No. 5 or No. 6 in the final rankings," Myerberg wrote.
Coach Ryan Day was vocal this past season about how the loss to the Wolverines impacted him mentally.
“It’s one of the worst things that’s happened to me in my life, quite honestly," Day told 10TV. "Other than losing my father and few other things — it’s quite honestly, for my family, the worst thing that’s happened.”
Assuming history doesn't repeat itself, Day will have restored order in the rivalry and will have his team ready to make another defense of their national title come playoff time.
For now, though, only time will tell.