This Saturday, the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers hope to finally prove their worth to the playoff committee. The Big Ten championship game is set at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana with the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers facing each other for a rematch of the 2014 championship game.
In 2014, the Badgers went into the game as a 4.5 point favorite. Star running back Ezekiel Elliott and the Buckeyes won in dominating fashion. Ohio State shutout Wisconsin 59-0, and later went on to win the College Football National Championship in January.
This year, Senior quarterback J.T. Barrett has been a leader for Ohio State. He suffered a knee injury against Michigan last weekend and exited the game in the third quarter. “He’s really doing a nice job with all of the rehab,” Coach Urban Meyer said in the weekly news conference. Barrett has been recently upgraded to “probable” for the championship this Saturday. A veteran quarterback will be a necessity for Ohio State because of Wisconsin’s relentless defense. Wisconsin has held opponents to an average of 12 points a game this season.
Wisconsin will need to get the run going against Ohio State to have a chance to win. Freshman running back, Jonathan Taylor, has produced for the Badgers week in and week out. The Big Ten announced Taylor has won freshman of the week for the eighth time this season, breaking Barrett’s record. “He’s done a good job staying in the moment and handling things as it comes. He works at that and our guys help him,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said in a press conference.
If Wisconsin can pull off a win this Saturday, it is nearly certain they will make the playoffs this December. Ohio State on the other hand, got creamed by the Iowa Hawkeyes and lost to the Oklahoma Sooners earlier in the season. These key losses could definitely affect their chances into sneaking into the playoffs, even with a win over Wisconsin.
