Mathematically, the Buckeyes are still alive for the Rose Bowl. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, mathematically can be interchanged with near-impossible when it appears in the sports pages.Ohio State is looking up in the Big Ten standings at Michigan and Penn State, and help is needed for OSU to leapfrog to the top of the pack. Let’s just assume the Buckeyes spank the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on the final week of the season. Penn State would need to lose two of its final four games for the Buckeyes to win the title outright, otherwise a conference tie would leave the Buckeyes wasting away in a lesser bowl game. I’ll get to that later.The first tie-breaker is head-to-head record. If the Buckeyes are in a two-way tie with Penn State, the Nittany Lions would be Pasadena-bound by virtue of their 31-27 win over the Buckeyes earlier in the season. If Michigan is thrown into the mix and there is a three-way tie, the Buckeyes still lose out. The three teams would each have one conference loss and their head-to-head records would cancel out the first tie-breaker, again assuming the Buckeyes beat Michigan. The second factor is overall record. The Buckeyes, at 12-1, would have a better record than Michigan and Penn State. However, the tie-breaker is based on a twelve-game season and the Buckeyes would lose the preseason win over Wyoming in the kick-off classic.This leaves the third tie-breaking consideration. In the interest of parity, Big Ten officials have it set up that the team with the longest layoff from a Rose Bowl appearance would get the nod if the first two tie-breakers couldn’t settle things. In case you’ve forgotten the unforgettable, the Buckeyes went last year.As for the lesser bowl game, if the Buckeyes manage to beat the Wolverines an alliance berth is a probability. The Big Ten bridesmaid is likely to play in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Fiesta Bowl representatives attended Saturday’s drubbing of the Michigan State Spartans. They were impressed with the Buckeyes’ performance and the solid fan support.A Fiesta party doesn’t quite get the blood boiling like the Rose Bowl, but it would be far better than another ho-hum Citrus Bowl appearance. Translation: For the Buckeyes’ season to be considered a success, the team has to win its remaining games. Otherwise, it’s been just another ten-win season – and Michigan will have gotten the best of us again.