Chaos hits the Big Ten as Michigan cancels rivalry game making Ohio State ineligible for the conference championship

• The game between Ohio State and Michigan scheduled for Saturday has been canceled due to COVID-19.
• The rivalry, known simply as "The Game," will not be contested for the first time since 1917.
• The cancellation leaves both Ohio State and the Big Ten scrambling, as according to rules set before the season, the Buckeyes now cannot qualify for the conference title game.
• There's still hope for Ohio State that the rules could change or they could find another opponent before the end of the season.

The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes' game against the Michigan Wolverines scheduled for this weekend has been canceled due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at Michigan.

"The number of positive tests has continued to trend in an upward direction over the last seven days," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said. "We have not been cleared to participate in practice at this time. Unfortunately, we will not be able to field a team due to COVID-19 positives and the associated quarantining required of close contact individuals.

"This decision is disappointing for our team and coaches, but their health and safety are paramount, and it will always come first in our decision-making."

It's the first time in more than 100 years that the rivalry, known simply as "The Game," will not be contested between the two schools.

The cancellation raises big problems for the Buckeyes and the Big Ten

Ohio State is 5-0 on the season and ranked third in the country, seemingly in line for a spot in the College Football Playoff, assuming they would beat Michigan this weekend and win the Big Ten championship game.

According to rules set up by the conference before its shortened season due to COVID, teams must play six games to qualify for the conference title game. Ohio State started the year with eight games on the schedule but had already lost two of them to COVID-related cancellations ahead of their game against the Wolverines. Without playing Saturday against Michigan, Ohio State cannot qualify for the Big Ten title game as the rules stand.

Should Ohio State be unable to qualify, Indiana, who is 6-1 with their only loss coming against the Buckeyes, would take their spot in the conference title game.

Buckeyes are still in line for the College Football Playoff

According to ESPN's Tom VanHaaren, Big Ten athletic directors are set to meet on Wednesday. They could discuss changing the six-game benchmark, allowing Ohio State a shot at the title game. Additionally, Ohio State could find a way to schedule another game this weekend. While the Big Ten is playing entirely intra-conference schedules this year, should another game in the conference be called due to COVID-19, the Buckeyes could quickly appeal to whichever side is still healthy from that game to play on short notice.

Given the respect that the Buckeyes have been given thus far by the College Football Playoff committee, there's no guarantee that missing out on the Big Ten title would deny them an invitation to the Playoff. However, other schools who played a fuller schedule would certainly cry foul.

COVID-19 college football was always going to be a mess. One way to clean it up would be to implement an eight-team playoff. As things stand, that's not the case, and now the Buckeyes are at risk of missing out on a conference title and possibly a shot at the national championship.