Chase Young Shuts Down Jonathan Taylor as Justin Fields, OSU Beats Wisconsin

In a key clash between Big Ten rivals, the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes prevailed 38-7 over the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Wet conditions made it difficult to move the ball during the first half, but Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields and running back J.K. Dobbins did enough on offense to pick up the big win.

Defensively, Ohio State shut down a Heisman Trophy candidate in Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor and held the Badgers to 191 total yards thanks in large part to the play of defensive end Chase Young.

OSU improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play this season with the win, while Wisconsin fell to 6-2 and 3-2 in conference action with its second consecutive loss.

Key Stats

Justin Fields, QB, OSU: 12-of-22 for 167 yards and 2 TDs, 13 rushes for 28 yards and 1 TD

J.K. Dobbins, RB, OSU: 20 rushes for 163 yards and 2 TDs, 3 catches for 58 yards

Chris Olave, WR, OSU: 7 catches for 93 yards and 2 TDs

Chase Young, DE, OSU: 4.0 sacks and 5.0 tackles for loss

Jack Coan, QB, WIS: 10-of-17 for 108 yards and 1 TD

Jonathan Taylor, RB, WIS: 20 rushes for 52 yards and 1 catch for 5 yards

A.J. Taylor, WR, WIS: 2 catches for 29 yards and 1 TD

Young, Dobbins Bolster OSU's CFP Hopes in Huge Win

Much of the focus entering Saturday's game was on Fields due to his status as a Heisman Trophy candidate, but it can be argued that two new candidates emerged against Wisconsin.

Defensively, the Buckeyes shut down one of the best running games in college football and put a significant damper on Taylor's Heisman hopes in the process.

The Badgers were also prevented from doing much of anything through the air thanks to a strong pass-rush spearheaded by Young.

Young tied a pair of school records in the win with four sacks and five tackles for loss. He also forced a pair of fumbles. His first sack of the day gave him 10.5 on the season, which put him in elite company among Ohio State pass-rushers:

With 13.5 sacks through eight games, Young is closing in on a school record, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Young was an absolute force Saturday and was clearly the best player on either side of the ball for either team despite the fact that many of the top players in college football were involved in the contest.

By virtue of Young's performance, Hayden Grove of Cleveland.com called for Young to go No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL draft, while ESPN's Todd McShay and Ari Wasserman of The Athletic praised Young with the ultimate praise:

As if that wasn't enough, Young's showing caught the attention of some of the biggest stars in the world of sports.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar and noted Ohio State fan LeBron James loved what he saw out of Young, and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was impressed even though he is a Wisconsin alum:

Young will make most of the headlines for good reason after essentially ruining the day for the Wisconsin offense, but he was far from the only Ohio State player to make an impact.

Going up against arguably the best running back in college football in the form of Taylor, Dobbins came to play and out-produced Taylor by a significant margin in the win.

Dobbins rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns to help put the game out of reach, and he was a significant factor in the passing game, which was key since pushing the ball down the field was difficult due to the weather:

Former Ohio State and current Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott called for Dobbins to get some Heisman hype much like Young and Fields as well:

Fields has put up some big numbers this season and earned his way into the Heisman conversation, but Saturday was far from his best showing.

Even so, he deserves a lot of credit for toughing out the elements and keeping the Buckeyes in front early in the game when there weren't many opportunities to make big plays.

Fields threw a key touchdown pass to Chris Olave late in the first half to make it 10-0 Ohio State, and then answered a Wisconsin touchdown in the third quarter with a big rushing score to restore the 10-point advantage:

He also threw for a second touchdown later in the half and played a major role in the blowout win despite the fact that his numbers didn't jump off the page.

Fields is unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but the fact that his defense and running game looked so good Saturday bodes well for the Buckeyes' chances of reaching the College Football Playoff and perhaps winning the national championship.

What's Next?

The Buckeyes do not have a game next week, but they will be heavily favored when they return Nov. 9 for a home meeting with the Maryland Terrapins.

Wisconsin is also off next week, but it will have a challenge on its hands the following week when it hosts the No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes.