Welcome to our second edition of Buckeye Bracketology. Last week, we said that Ohio State's resume was firmly on the bubble because it had both nothing special and nothing bad in it. Now, three games later, nothing much has changed.
In the last week, the Buckeyes beat Maryland (avoiding a bad loss), got thrashed by Michigan, then survived a tough home game against USC. Losing to Maryland would have been a resume-killer, and Ohio State's first Quad 3 loss of the season. The Michigan loss doesn't hurt the resume (only our hearts), but there's no real gain in it either. The USC win helps, though. It's only Ohio State's fourth Quad 2 win of the season, which isn't a ton for a bubble team but isn't nothing, either. (If I'm losing you with Quad 1, Quad 2, etc. please refer back to last week's introduction.)
So, just like last week, the Buckeyes have a resume that has no big strengths but also no major weaknesses. Which is a problem for bracketologists, because there's no way to know each year how the committee will judge such a resume. Sometimes they'll prioritize big wins more; sometimes they really respect having no bad losses. It depends on each year's bubbles and the teams involved.
The good news for Ohio State is that the Buckeyes can make all of this moot with just a few more wins. Ohio State has seven games remaining––and five of them are Quad 1 games. The others are Quad 2. If the Buckeyes can finish just 3-4, this resume will go from the edge of the bubble (a lot of outlets currently have the Buckeyes in the "first four out" range) to pretty solidly in the field. At absolute worst, three more wins would give Ohio State seven Quad 2 wins, one Quad 1 win, and no bad losses.
There is a drop of bad news for the Buckeyes, though. Pitt is struggling right now (the Panthers have lost seven of their last eight). If Pitt falls just 11 more spots in the NET rankings, then that will become a Quad 3 loss for Ohio State. That's a blemish that, as of right now, this resume can't really afford. Similarly, Northwestern is a few spots away from turning Ohio State's only Quad 1 win into another Quad 2 win.
One upset the rest of the way from the Buckeyes should put them safely in the field. But a 2-5 finish will make things very sketchy... and probably require a few wins in the Big Ten Tournament.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Buckeye Bracketology: resume still right on the edge