J.T. Barrett, Ohio State Hang on to Beat Wisconsin in 2017 Big 10 Championship

The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes captured their first Big Ten championship since 2014 thanks to a 27-21 triumph over the No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday night. 

The win, which was buoyed by a slew of explosive plays from the Buckeyes' speedy skill position players, figures to incite tremendous debate among the College Football Playoff selection committee in advance of Sunday's final rankings reveal. 

Following resounding wins by No. 1 Clemson, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 6 Georgia, the committee will likely have to decide if the two-loss conference champion Buckeyes or one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide are more deserving of the CFP's fourth and final spot.  

And while the Tide may have fewer blemishes on their resume, the Buckeyes have officially made things hard on the committee by following up a thorough 31-20 win over the Michigan Wolverines with a solid offensive showing against the Badgers' No. 1 defense. 

Quarterback J.T. Barrett—who had arthroscopic surgery six days ago to remove a piece of his torn meniscus—led the charge and completed 12 of 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, including an 84-yard strike to Terry McLaurin that opened the scoring and set the tone for the Buckeyes offense, as Fox Sports documented on Twitter: 

Barrett's ledger also included a 57-yard touchdown pass to Parris Campbell and a one-yard scoring plunge. 

That said, Barrett was prone to mistakes. 

Moving somewhat gingerly in the pocket, the senior signal-caller tossed a pair of interceptions—including a first-quarter pick-six and a costly third-quarter duck that flipped field position and paved the way for the Badgers to trim the deficit to 24-21 with 12:39 remaining in the fourth. 

The Buckeyes countered with a field goal of their own to stretch the lead back to six, and a defensive stand on the Badgers' final drive allowed them to ascend to the conference throne. 

That effort, though, wouldn't have been possible without a signature outing from true freshman running back J.K. Dobbins. 

The heartbeat of OSU's offense Saturday night, Dobbins rushed 17 times for 174 yards, including a monster 77-yard scamper in the second quarter that Fox College Football captured: 

Those contributions understandably caught the eyes of ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg and the Associated Press' Ralph D. Russo: 

All told, the Buckeyes outgained the Badgers 449-298 as quarterback Alex Hornibrook (19 for 40, 229 yards) failed to stretch the field while facing constant pressure from the Buckeyes' daunting pass rush.

Running back Jonathan Taylor was also bottled up to the tune of 15 carries for 41 yards as the Buckeyes stacked the box and dared Hornibrook to beat them. 

Now owners of a Big Ten crown and a win over the Power Five's last undefeated team, Ohio State will sit back and hope the committee can overlook its 55-24 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes as final CFP deliberations wrap up.