Ohio State vs. Indiana, No. 1 vs. No. 2, is the best of college football in the Big Ten Championship ... and it still matters, right?

Ryan Day and Curt Cignetti talked about what their matchup Saturday means and how they will approach it

Curt Cignetti and Ryan Day previewed the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday.

COLUMBUS — The plan is for Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate to play. Start there. The Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday matters at least that much to Ohio State.

“Both of those guys came out as good as could be expected,” Day said Sunday in a video conference to preview the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup ahead with Indiana. “So that was great. Two gritty performances and gusty performances. They’ll be excited to play in this one for sure.”

Of 73 offensive snaps in the Buckeyes’ 27-9 win over Michigan, Smith played 45 and Tate 42. That was almost twice as many as No. 3 receiver Brandon Inniss (23 snaps), while backup receivers David Adolph and Bryson Rodgers combined for 27.

Ohio State’s two star receivers, in their return from injuries, gave the Buckeyes their typical big-play strikes, each catching a long touchdown. That was in The Game, one the Buckeyes had been looking forward to for a year.

Saturday is the Big Ten Championship. Ohio State is assured a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff win or lose, which means the Buckeyes’ first playoff game won’t be played until Dec. 31 or Jan. 1, giving them 25 or 26 days off.

Day several times Sunday, as he has during the season, listed Ohio State’s four goals for this season, in order: Beat Texas in the opener, beat Michigan, win the Big Ten title, win the national title.

They are 2 for 2. But No. 3 is squeezed in between No. 2 and No. 4. And no one is pretending a conference title matters as much as college football’s greatest rivalry or the chance to win back-to-back national championships for the first time in school history.

But if this conference title game doesn’t matter … then what is the sport going to do?