Wisconsin vs. Ohio State: TV, Live Stream Info, Preview for Big Ten Championship
With two Heisman contenders under center lost for the year, Urban Meyer's Ohio State Buckeyes have never been more vulnerable as they head into the Big Ten Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers.
Outside of an early-September loss, the Buckeyes have run the table this season and stand a legitimate chance at making the College Football Playoff. But the task is more difficult than ever now that the staff is forced to turn to sophomore quarterback Cardale Jones at the worst possible time.
Wisconsin has no CFP aspirations at this point thanks to a season-opening loss to LSU and a horrific loss to Northwestern on the resume. What Gary Andersen's team does have is lofty bowl expectations and a Heisman contender in the backfield by the name of Melvin Gordon.
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These two put on a show last season and are sure to do so once again with so much on the line. Anything less will be a resounding disappointment.
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 8:17 p.m. ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Television: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSportsGo
Preview
The weight of the world falls on Jones, who has attempted all of 17 passes this season.
The cleats to fill are quite large. J.T. Barrett replaced Braxton Miller and threw for 2,834 yards and 34 touchdowns to become a Heisman contender himself while allowing the Buckeyes to rank fifth nationally in scoring.
Jones is, of course, taking the task at hand in a serious manner, as illustrated by Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch:
Inexperience under center is just that, though, which means one of the nation's top defenses can sell out to stop the Ohio State ground game if Jones does not prove early and often that he can go over the top.
The showdown on paper is one between a top defense and offense:
Much of that hinges on Jones, as it does Ohio State lead back Ezekiel Elliott. The sophomore has rushed for 1,182 yards and 10 scores this season on a 6.0 yard-per-carry average but faces the toughest challenge of his season with Wisconsin so focused on stopping him.
In turn, the focal point for Ohio State suddenly comes on the defensive side of the ball.
The Buckeyes may rank 29th defensively, but just last season the unit did the unthinkable and held Gordon in check. Wisconsin rushed for just 104 yards, its lowest total in any game over the course of the past two seasons.
For Buckeyes defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, the task at hand boils down to the fundamentals.
"In order to stop a running game, you've got to have great team defense, you've got to surround the ball, you've got to build a wall at the line of scrimmage, you've got to swarm tackles," Fickell said, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com).
Not only does it sound simple, the Buckeyes have already proved they can do it.
Except it is never that easy with Gordon this year.
Gordon has rushed for 200 or more yards in five games this season and has 31 rushes of 20 yards or more, good for a higher total than 118 of 124 teams. As ESPN's Joe Schad points out, the Heisman contender turns up his play against strong competition, too:
Joey Bosa and the Ohio State defense have a lot of work to do, to say the least. It at least helps, though, that the unit will not need to worry about Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave (1,042 yards, eight touchdowns, four interceptions) all that much.
When they do, the Buckeyes just so happen to rank 11th in the nation with 37 sacks on the season.
That said, the unit is in its worst stretch of the season at the moment considering its last four opponents have scored 37, 24, 27 and 28 points, respectively. Going into a matchup with a player as talented as Gordon, that places a shadow of doubt over whether or not the Buckeyes can beat the Badgers at their own game.
If Saturday was Jones' second or third start, perhaps it would be easier to roll with the Buckeyes. But his first start comes in a conference title game against a Top 15 team that can control the pace of the game with a Heisman contender on the ground.
This time Gordon will have his revenge. The collective stress level of the CFP committee will be in great debt to the man, too.
Prediction: Wisconsin 27, Ohio State 24
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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