After Ohio State’s win this weekend at Beaver Stadium in front of a record crowd, there was a seismic shift in the Big 10 dynamic. Going into then no.3 Penn State and inflicting their first loss of the season was of major consequence for Ryan Day and his team. On the surface, the win elevated OSU into stripping Penn State of both the AP Poll and the Big Ten’s 3rd spot. However, there are more perks that could potentially be detrimental to Oregon (9-0).

Upon the culmination of Week 10, Oregon (+450) have fallen behind Ohio State (+350) and Georgia (+400) in the odds of winning the National Championship. Despite their perfect record and being no. 1 in the country, Dan Lanning finds his team overlooked by the powers that be. Is there a method to this madness?

The aforementioned result this weekend paved an interesting rationale. Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 in the conf.) now hold an edge in the grand scheme of the playoffs. If Ohio State manages to win out from here on, they will make it to Indy to play in the B1G conference championship game. They’ll likely do so at the expense of Cignetti’s Indiana (9-0, 6-0 in the conf.). Both teams are due to face off in the penultimate week of the season. Under the prerequisite that the Buckeyes win out, they’ll hold the tiebreaker over the Hoosiers by virtue of beating them head-to-head. 

Oregon is likely to go unbeaten and finish on top of the B1G standings. So, with Ohio in 2nd, This will set up a rematch of the week 7 game at Autzen Stadium. It took Dan Lanning pulling a rabbit out of his hat and exposing a loophole to edge Ryan Day’s unit 32-31. At a neutral field in Indy, Ohio State shall be favored to get retribution. Hence their disposition in the odds.

Georgia, on the other hand, is seen as the clear-cut best team in the SEC on the back of their 30-15 win over Texas. If they manage to make it to the conference championship game in Atlanta, their path to success may be more straightforward. Kirby Smart’s team has earned the benefit of the doubt in the last 3 years. Although that may be on the verge of vanquish.

Turnover troubles cast a shadow over Georgia’s prospects

The Bulldogs haven’t looked at their best recently. Kirby Smart has a reputation for peaking at this time of year, but recent performances have hinted at a regression in their offense. The primary source of concern is star QB Carson Beck. For one reason or another, Beck’s not been his usual self.

Georgia avoided a scare on the weekend against rivals Florida after trailing at the halfway mark. This was on the back of Beck throwing 3 picks, taking his tally to 8 in his last 3 and 11 in his last 5. Beck threw 6 INTs total in the previous season. The timing of Beck’s issues couldn’t get much worse. 

While Georgia continues to win in spite of Beck rather than because of him, one wonders if this level of quarterbacking could nab the team of its championship aspirations. Kirby Smart teams have a standard. The oddsmaker’s placement of Georgia seems to suggest they believe the rut is temporary.