Dec. 07--INDIANAPOLIS -- This much is clear: Ohio State has the Big Ten's best head coach, best offensive coordinator, best third-string quarterback, best skill players and -- heck -- best band.
This much is unclear: Will that be enough to earn a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff?
To say that the Buckeyes dominated Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game is akin to saying that the Chicago Bears have hit a rough patch. The final score: 59-0.
Cardale Jones, the third-stringer who entered the game having attempted just 19 passes, was spectacular: He completed 12 of 17 for 257 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers.
Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott outrushed soon-to-be-Heisman Trophy finalist Melvin Gordon, 220-76. Elliott went for 60 on a fourth-quarter jaunt despite suffering a wardrobe malfunction -- the loss of a shoe.
The game effectively ended with the Badgers trying to run out the clock before halftime. Defensive tackle Michael Bennett stripped Gordon, and Joey Bosa scooped up the loose ball for a 4-yard score that made it 38-0.
You could almost envision the Wisconsin fans among the 60,229 at Lucas Oil Stadium turning their red shirts inside-out to join a Buckeyes bandwagon chanting: "WE WANT BAMA! WE WANT BAMA!"
Ohio State hopes to convert 12 more people Sunday.
The selection committee will release its Final Four sometime after 11:30 a.m. Chicago time on ESPN, and TV ratings in Columbus promise to be somewhere between Everyone and Almost Everyone.
We know that Alabama and Oregon locked up spots. That maddening outfit in Tallahassee sneaked past Georgia Tech in the ACC title game, and it seems inconceivable that the committee would snub a 13-0 Florida State. Nor should it.
For all their flaws, the Seminoles are the defending national champs. And, more to the point, they should get credit for scheduling what had the makings of an imposing threesome: Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and Florida.
So the final spot will be decided among OSU, TCU, Baylor and Florida State. All have one loss.
The ugliest belongs to the Buckeyes, who fell at home to Virginia Tech by two touchdowns. But that occurred in Week 2, before J.T. Barrett -- subbing for the injured Braxton Miller -- blossomed into a star.
But which team has the most quality victories?
The committee determined last week that TCU's five trumped Baylor's three. That's why TCU was No. 3 in the rankings while Baylor was sixth.
Baylor did take down No. 9 Kansas State in very impression fashion Saturday, with Bryce Petty completing 34 of 40 throws in the 38-27 victory. So that closes the gap. TCU crushed hapless and hopeless Iowa State, 55-3. Baylor and TCU are 11-1.
Well, Ohio State is 12-1 after obliterating a 13th-rated Wisconsin team that entered with seven straight victories and a defense that led the nation in forced three-and-outs.
The Buckeyes have beaten three ranked teams (Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin) away from home in the last month.
Pretty safe to assume that the Buckeyes would get the support of Badgers coach Gary Andersen.
The committee can grind over all three impressive resumes -- or take the easy way out. And in this case, the easy way out is the smart way, too.
The Big 12 does not have a conference title game. That's why both TCU and Baylor have only one loss.
The Big Ten staged a duel Saturday that turned into a first-round knockout.
Reward Ohio State. Dot the 'i' on this evening of domination.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
END
INDIANAPOLIS -- Ohio State took the field Saturday night in the Big Ten title game with razor-thin playoff hopes.
Oregon locked up one of four playoff spots Friday night. Alabama claimed one Saturday. TCU, the thinking went, did the same with a beatdown of Iowa State.
The last one would go to Florida State, Baylor or the Buckeyes.
And Ohio State had to beat the Big Ten West champ -- tangling with the league's top defense -- with newbie Cardale Jones at quarterback.
Long odds, huh?
Well, after just a handful of minutes, they no longer seemed insurmountable.
Georgia Tech scored first on Florida State and the Buckeyes cruised down the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Jones rolled to his right and fired a strike to Michael Thomas on Ohio State's first play. Jones then wisely optioned to Ezekiel Elliott for a run of 15 yards.
And the one that mattered most: Jones lobbed a pass to the end zone, and Devin Smith outfought Sojourn Shelton for the ball. Record it as a 39-yard touchdown pass, just the third of Jones' career. (The first two came in a blowout of Illinois.)
So maybe Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen, Ohio State's Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes players were right in predicting that Jones, a redshirt sophomore who entered camp third on the depth chart behind Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett, could step in and thrive in this offense.
Defensive tackle Michael Bennett called Jones "your prototypical quarterback ... He handles pressure in the pocket well, he can run over people. He has a rocket for an arm. He's a good decision-maker."
Andersen was wowed by watching Jones' high school tape -- and mindful of the Buckeyes' superb skill-position players.
"This offense will put him in a position to be just fine," he predicted. "There's a lot of talented young men on that team and he can get the ball in their hands a lot of different ways -- quick throws, easy throws, hand it off, deep balls."
Indeed, Jones made perfect use of Elliott during Ohio State's second scoring drive. Elliott turned Jones' option handoff into an 81-yard scoring burst up the middle, slightly aided by an official who screened off Badgers safety Michael Caputo.
On the ensuing drive, Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave helped Ohio State's cause by throwing across his body. Safety Vonn Bell picked it off, the first turnover of the game.
Stave also missed Kenzel Doe on a third-down pass and later fielded a shotgun snap when he wasn't ready.
The Wisconsin offense was in shambles.
Melvin Gordon began the night with 2,260 rushing yards, a single-season Big Ten record. But the Wisconsin line lost Barrington's Dan Voltz, the center who entered the game with a severely sprained ankle, to a first-quarter injury.
That necessitated moving left guard Dallas Lewallen to center and replacing him with Ray Ball. Perhaps as a result, or perhaps because of Ohio State's superb offensive line, Gordon had trouble breaking free. The longest rush of his first 11 attempts went 13 yards.
Wisconsin's first drive ended when Gordon got stuffed for a loss on a third-and-4 rush. He was tackled by Bennett, who wore uniform No. 53 on Saturday night to honor Kosta Karageorge, the Buckeyes defensive tackle who was found dead last Sunday.
Perhaps inspired by his memory, the Buckeyes played a near flawless first half, taking a 38-0 lead into the locker room.
Elliott did drop a perfect ball from Jones near the goal, forcing Ohio State to settle for a field goal.
But he more than made up for it with two touchdown runs in the game's first 30 minutes. On his second, a 14-yard scamper, he flew into the end zone untouched.
Jones showed his chops -- again -- on a 44-yard strike to Devin Smith for the Buckeyes' third touchdown on the night. With pressure coming in his face, Jones unleashed a perfect ball.
Wisconsin's nightmare continued just before halftime. Trying to run the clock out, Gordon got stripped by Bennett, and Joey Bosa scooped up the loose ball for another score.
It was that kind of night for an Ohio State team trying to prove itself playoff-worthy.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
