Big Ten Championship 2014: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State TV Info, Spread, Injury News

The Big Ten title is on the line Saturday night in Indianapolis, but Ohio State and Wisconsin are playing for much more than their conference title.

Because this is the first year under the new playoff system, nobody knows how heavily conference titles will be weighed by the playoff selection committee. That means the Buckeyes, No. 6, and the Badgers, No. 11, both have their sights set on playing another game after this weekend.

There are many big storylines as we head into the last day before kickoff. All the essential information—including TV info, the spread and injury news—is below, followed by some analysis of the keys to this game.

When: Saturday, Dec. 6

Where: Indianapolis, Lucas Oil Stadium

Time: 8:17 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Betting Lines (via Odds Shark on Thursday, December 4 at 3 p.m. ET)

• Over/Under: 52.5
• Spread: Wisconsin (-3)

Team Injury Updates

Team injury reports are courtesy of The Sports Network, via USA Today.

Player	Position	Details	Status	Injury
J.T. Barrett	QB	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	broken ankle
Kyle Berger	LB	will miss the entire season	Out	knee
Devan Bogard	LB	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Johnnie Dixon	WR	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	knee
Marshon Lattimore	CB	will miss the entire season	Out	hamstring
Braxton Miller	QB	will miss the entire season	Out	shoulder
Rod Smith	RB	has left the team	Out	personal
Noah Spence	DE	will miss the remainder of the season	Suspended	disciplinary
Dontre Wilson	RB	is out indefinitely	Out	foot

Player	Position	Details	Status	Injury
Ray Ball	G	is questionable for Saturday's Big Ten Championship against Ohio State	Questionable	leg
Taiwan Deal	RB	is out indefinitely	Out	hand
Trent Denlinger	G	is questionable for Saturday's Big Ten Championship against Ohio State	Questionable	undisclosed
D'Cota Dixon	LB	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	shoulder
Vonte Jackson	RB	will miss the entire season	Out	knee
Austin Ramesh	FB	is questionable for Saturday's Big Ten Championship against Ohio State	Questionable	leg
Eric Steffes	TE	is out indefinitely	Out	knee
Dan Voltz	C	is questionable for Saturday's Big Ten Championship against Ohio State	Questionable	ankle

Analysis

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

When it comes to the Big Ten title game, it's best to first address the elephant in the room.

Record-breaking quarterback J.T. Barrett broke his ankle against Michigan last week, leaving the Buckeyes with Cardale Jones to start Saturday. Jones has not started a game in his college career.

Viewers will quickly learn that this kid has potential, though, and one thing that will surely become evident rather quickly is his ridiculous arm strength. Ryan Ginn of the Buckeye Sports Bulletin tweeted something he'd heard about Jones' cannon:

Jones saw time against Michigan after Barrett went down, completing 10 of his 17 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. That performance and an overall confidence in his teammate led Barrett to speak highly of Jones on Wednesday, via ESPN.com's Austin Ward.

"Cardale is a great player," Barrett said. "I honestly feel like if I wasn't starting this year, Cardale would have done the same things I did this year. Cardale is that talented. He definitely can do it."

Cardale will have some help coming out of the backfield, as sophomore Ezekiel Elliott has been a rock at running back. He has tallied 1,182 yards, 10 touchdowns and six yards per carry in 2014. CBSSports.com's Tom Fornelli reminds us that much of that impressive stat line has come recently:

"

What may mean the most for the Buckeyes is Elliott has improved as the season's come to an end. From August until the end of October (seven games) Elliott had carried the ball 117 times for a total of 640 yards (5.47 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. He's taken his game to another level in November, rushing for 542 yards and five touchdowns on 80 carries (6.78 ypc) in four games.

"

Wisconsin's defense ranks No. 8 in the country in yards allowed on the ground per game (103.8), though, so Elliott won't find it easy to gain yards. Of course, he did torch the Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 8 for 154 yards (6.7 YPC) and two touchdowns. The Spartans currently rank No. 5 nationally in run defense.

The Badgers counter Ohio State's run game with a monster running back of their own.

Melvin Gordon has topped 122 yards and scored at least one touchdown in every game this season except Sept. 6 against Western Illinois (38 yards on 17 carries with no scores). He has been otherworldly since, and his overall marks of 2,260 rush yards and 26 rush touchdowns have him in the running for the Heisman Trophy.

Add his 151 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns, and you've got the most dynamic player in this contest.

The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year earned that title based on his ability to rip off long runs, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

Because of Gordon's tendency to gain large chunks of yardage, the big men in the Buckeyes defense are the keys to this game. They limited him to 74 yards on 15 carries last season, but several running backs have taken care of business against them this season, as Jim Naveau of The Lima News points out, via the Daily Advocate.

"Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford ran for 137 yards, Minnesota’s David Cobb got 145 yards, Indiana’s Tevin Coleman rushed for 228 yards and Michigan’s Drake Johnson had 74 yards when he went out of the game early in the third quarter with a knee injury," Naveau writes.

This puts the pressure on defensive coordinator Luke Fickell and the likes of Michael Bennett, Adolphus Washington, Joey Bosa and Curtis Grant.

The Buckeyes won't win if Gordon reaches his per-game average of 188.33 yards per game on the ground. He struggled against Western Illinois because it stacked the box and forced Tanner McEvoy to throw. That has to be Ohio State's strategy.

Because only an FCS team has been able to stop Gordon this season, the chances of Ohio State doing so are slim to none. That explains why the Badgers are favorites in this one.

Anything can happen on this stage, however, so tune in Saturday to see which players steal the show.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn