INDIANAPOLIS -- The excuses and the sidedoors were prepared, the reasons ready to explain the end of an undefeated Ohio State season, and the logical explanations lined up for why the Buckeyes were still headed to the College Football Playoff.

Reasons: Quarterback Justin Fields was wearing a bulky left knee brace. Maybe the Buckeyes were tired after consecutive wins over highly-ranked rivals Penn State and Michigan. Ohio State had already beaten Wisconsin six weeks ago, and now had to try to do it again.

Explanations: Even with a loss and as a non-champion, the Buckeyes were one of the best four teams in the country. Winning by double-digits every week, they’d built up equity with the playoff committee all season. How would putting a two-loss team in the playoff ahead of the Buckeyes make sense?

If the Buckeyes wanted them Saturday, they were there.

Sometimes we like to throw around phrases like “this game doesn’t matter” when talking about something like the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, knowing that No. 1 Ohio State would get a shot at the four-team playoff regardless of the outcome against the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers. Should the Buckeyes rest Fields? What’s the value of a Big Ten title game when it’s sandwiched between the Michigan game and a national title run, two things which clearly matter more?

Ask yourself this question. That Ohio State team in the second half in Lucas Oil Stadium -- did it look like it mattered to them?

Down 14 at halftime, the Buckeyes roared back, shutting out Wisconsin in the second half, dismissing the excuses and bypassing the sidedoors in a 34-21 victory that won them their third straight Big Ten title. At 13-0, Ohio State will stride toward the playoff off a second half that made it clear why the Buckeyes could win it all.

It may have cost them a seed, however.

No. 1 entering conference championship weekend, the Buckeyes were competing with the Badgers but also with the No. 2 LSU Tigers. In the SEC Championship on Saturday afternoon, LSU beat No. 4 Georgia 37-10 to make its case for No. 1. I thought the Buckeyes, who are a more balanced team than LSU with a better defense, could still make a strong case for the top spot. Ohio State holds a better statistical profile than LSU, and the committee does use stats. So entering the Big Ten game, I thought the Buckeyes would hold onto No. 1 as long as they weren’t in danger of losing in the second half.

They trailed 21-7 entering the third quarter.

The rally was impressive -- Ohio State took the lead with 2:23 left in the third quarter. But the Buckeyes cracked the door for LSU to move to No. 1. The last few weeks, I predicted that Ohio State would remain No. 1 if both teams finished undefeated. Now ... I think when the playoff committee announces the bracket at noon Sunday, the Buckeyes will be No. 2.

That would be a bit of a loss. I certainly could be wrong, but clearly, the committee vote should be close.

The likely outcome is that No. 1 will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl. The No. 2 seed will face No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. Avoiding a semifinal against undefeated Clemson, which has been playing as well as any team in the last month, would be a bonus for the top seed.

So while the Buckeyes don’t have to wonder if they’re in the playoff (which they have done for each of the first five seasons of this as they finished No. 4, No. 7, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 in the final rankings) Ohio State will watch Sunday unsure of its destination and opponent.

But the Buckeyes will begin their playoff run with a perfect record, with a conference title and off a win. That’s better than the alternative, which everyone was preparing for in the first half. I was ready ... this was the start of the column if they lost.

Six years to the day after an upset loss in the Big Ten Championship Game left Urban Meyer eating cold pizza in a golf cart, the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes were stunned once again in Lucas Oil Stadium.

This time, they can reheat their season.

I gave that up because the Buckeyes didn’t give up. Unlike the undefeated Ohio State team in 2013 that lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship and fell out of the BCS race, these Buckeyes found a way to win. That happened even though Ohio State would have been able to chase that title win or lose.

Maybe Ohio State lost its No. 1 seed. Ohio State didn’t lose its momentum, or its opportunity. What would it have been like to be the first team to make the College Football Playoff after losing in a conference title game? Ohio State doesn’t know, because for the Buckeyes this mattered.

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