Penn State fever has spread across enemy lines, again. Students attending Ohio State’s home matchup against Louisiana Tech Tuesday night spelled out “We Are Penn State” using lettered shirts. Some might take it as a nice gesture, while others may view it as a sarcastic jab. The truth, however, lies in the Big Ten standings.

Ohio State student section wearing “We are Penn State” shirts at tonight’s basketball game pic.twitter.com/XWMiXtElWS

— Bill Landis (@BillLandis25) November 25, 2015

Buckeye fans will be rooting for the Nittany Lions this coming Saturday as they travel to East Lansing to face No. 5 Michigan State. Though the Lions might’ve coached their way out of a chance at making a Big Ten Championship push, Saturday’s meeting against the Spartans has conference title and College Football Playoff implications — for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is fresh off a last-second loss to Michigan State, who broke Urban Meyer’s nationally-leading unbeaten streak. The dramatic victory put Sparty in the driver’s seat for now, but Penn State can do the Buckeyes a solid by taking them down on the road. Here are some concrete facts that fans need to know:

• Ohio State and Michigan State both sit at 10-1, but the Spartans currently sit atop the Big Ten East thanks to the golden foot of kicker Michael Geiger.
• Michigan, fresh off a 28-16 victory in Happy Valley, sits in third place at 9-2.

Here’s where Penn State comes in.

If Ohio State can take down the Wolverines, a Penn State upset of Michigan State will put the Buckeyes in sole possession of first place in the East, securing them a spot in the Big Ten Championship against No. 4 Iowa. The winner of that slugfest would most likely earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, pending results from other Top-10 teams around the country. Sitting at No. 8 in the standings, Ohio State needs to leapfrog Baylor, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Iowa for a spot, but since Baylor and Notre Dame won’t be playing conference championship games, the Big Ten victor should get the nod.

As the saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”