Marcus Baugh vs. Maryland

Ohio State tight end Marcus Baugh leaping over a defender in the Buckeyes blowout of Maryland on Saturday.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- If you were a fan who laughed at Michigan when its punt got returned for a touchdown in a last-second loss to Michigan State last year, remember this: That play kept Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff.

That may have just happened again.

Ohio State's path to the Big Ten Championship took a huge hit late on Saturday night when Michigan shockingly lost to Iowa. Now Penn State goes conference title game if the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes win out.

* Ohio State Big Ten tiebreaker tracker: What does Michigan's loss to Iowa mean for the Buckeyes?

But can an Ohio State team that doesn't win its conference still make the playoff? Yes, but there's no guarantee now like there would have been if the Buckeyes were one-loss Big Ten champions.

A few thoughts:

* No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Washington all lost on Saturday, so there's a good chance that Ohio State will be ranked as high as No. 2 when the playoff committee puts out its rankings on Tuesday. So that ranking may make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside with thoughts like: "There's no way Ohio State could fall three spots if it wins out without playing in its conference championship."

You have to understand that it isn't about falling. This isn't the Associated Press Poll. This is about teams continuing to build their own resumes, and conference championships are clearly of great value to the playoff committee.

If Ohio State doesn't have that conference championship, it's possible it gets hopped over by a one-loss team who does have one.

* If Wisconsin and Penn State meet in the Big Ten title game and both have two losses before that game, it's possible that one of those teams could get playoff consideration. It's unprecedented what the committee may do because no two-loss team has ever made the final four, but it's a discussion.

Does Ohio State want to be a part of a discussion?

That's what the Michigan loss has done.

Ohio State has to win discussions, not just win on the field.

But you have to understand that the ranking doesn't matter because one-loss teams like Michigan, Clemson and Washington a still have a path to the playoff. And now maybe Wisconsin or Penn State.

* You may feel confident that Ohio State is golden right now, but here's the steadfast, undebatable fact: The Buckeyes lost the ability to control their own destiny for anything. A discussion has to happen.

Can the Buckeyes make it still? Sure.

But it's a lot harder now because Michigan lost.