What did we learn after Ohio State and Wisconsin’s battle in the Big Ten Championship Game?
Ohio State and Wisconsin battled in Saturday night’s Big Ten Championship Game. It may have been an unofficial quarterfinal game, with College Football Playoff implications on the line. The Badgers sat at No. 4, while the Buckeyes had the No. 8 spot. A win for the former would have secured a top-four spot, while a victorious evening for the latter gets them at the edge of the conversation.
Well, after 60 minutes of football, it was Ohio State that earned the victory, 27-21. It became the Big Ten champion, finishing with a record of 11-2.
This game presented a handful of takeaways? What did we learn from OSU’s win? Let’s take a look.
Wisconsin didn’t play poorly, but the offense wasn’t good enough
Ever since the first College Football Playoff Rankings were unveiled, questions surrounded Wisconsin. An undefeated Big Ten team — frankly, almost any of the Power Five schools — would usually be a big deal. Given the Badgers’ weak strength of schedule and how they weren’t Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan, it sparked doubt around how good this team was.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, losing to the Buckeyes ended its chances of making the College Football Playoff. Playing this extra game always made it difficult to keep the No. 4 spot, with Alabama sitting and waiting at home to take their place.
A blowout would have tarnished the Badgers’ reputation for the 2017 season. However, it was a close game until the end, with the defense stepping up in the second half to keep this in reach, holding Ohio State to just 6 points.
The Wisconsin offense did no better, though, struggling to get the passing and running game started. It was highlighted by Jonathan Taylor’s worst performance of the season. He never fell below 4.0 yards per carry in any of his team’s 12 games. On Saturday, that number fell to 2.7. It took away the best part of the offense and contributed to the downfall.
JK Dobbins highlighted an ugly offensive game
The passing games for Ohio State and Wisconsin weren’t great. Even with all the press around JT Barrett’s recent knee surgery. He and Alex Hornibrook combined for four interceptions and a completion percentage of 46.
Beyond them, however, was Buckeye running back JK Dobbins. He was the lone bright spot on either team’s offense, bolting for 174 yards on 17 carries. 77 of these yards came on one play.
Dobbins didn’t score a touchdown but provided the biggest impact of anyone on either side of the ball. He provided the spark that kept this offense moving, while Barrett struggled through the air. There are at least two more years of this kid playing tailback, and should make for a fun watch, as he teams with Dwayne Haskins, the talented signal caller that’s behind OSU’s senior at the same position.
Ohio State still won’t make the College Football Playoff
If Ohio State lost the Big Ten Championship, there wouldn’t be a chance of them making the College Football Playoff. But, even if it won, a spot wasn’t guaranteed, either, all thanks to Alabama. So, a wide scoring margin would have been ideal.
OSU had an opportunity to blow open this game in the second half, entering it with a 21-10 lead. That never came about, though, as the Wisconsin defense held them to 6 points and finished the game at 27-21, Buckeyes.
The win pushes Urban Meyer’s squad past No. 8, but not enough to get into the top four. It wasn’t the dominant win to overcome the Crimson Tide, who didn’t even play in Conference Championship Weekend but had the No. 5 spot to back them up in case a top-four team lost. Sure, knocking off a perfect team means something, just not enough to overcome the committee’s placement of this perennial SEC powerhouse.
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Look for Ohio State to take Alabama’s No. 5 spot, while the latter enters at No. 4. It will disappoint those in Columbus, but the post-Week 13 rankings made this inevitable.