Records
Ohio State (12-0), Wisconsin (10-2)
Broadcast, TV, Game Time
Date: Saturday, December 7
Game Time: 8pm ET
Network: FOX
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis – Capacity: 70,000
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 60-18-5
Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 38-7 earlier this year
Boom! There’s nothing quite like owning your arch rival. The Buckeyes took care of business in impressive fashion with a dominating win over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor this past Saturday.
The regular season is done and now it’s time to focus on bigger prizes, namely a Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff birth.
The Buckeyes will face the Badgers of Wisconsin in a rematch of a crossover game from earlier in the season in which Ohio State cruised to a 38-7 victory in less than ideal weather conditions.
Weather won’t be a factor under the cover of Lucas Oil Stadium as Ohio State looks for its third straight Big Ten Championship.
On to Indy!
Next … The game plan
Ohio State game plan for victory
Once again, Ohio State looked close to unstoppable on Saturday. With that said, Michigan was able to throw on the Buckeye secondary more than we’ve seen this year. However, I believe that had more to do with Shaun Wade’s absence, a much improved Michigan offense, and a very good game plan against Chase Young.
Wisconsin offers a much different look and have been heavily reliant on the run game this season. Jonathan Taylor has been his typical workhorse self posting 1,761 yards this season for tops in the Big Ten. But the Badgers went a little off script this past week against Minnesota and threw the ball around more than usual.
Paul Chryst and offensive coordinator, Joe Rudolph opened the play up calling with some reverses and screen passes to keep the Gophers on their heels. Quarterback Jack Coan ended with 280 yards and two touchdowns while Taylor posted a modest 76 yards rushing and two scores on the ground. When Wisconsin faced Ohio State in October, Coan was held to 108 yards passing, while Taylor was held to a season low of 52.
Wisconsin will have some tricks up its sleeve for sure to try and keep the Buckeye D guessing, but will the Badgers have an answer for Chase Young? The Heisman hopeful got to Coan four times and caused two fumbles in the previous matchup.
Offensively, Ohio State overcame poor weather conditions and still put up 38 points against what was at the time the No. 1 defense in the country. JK Dobbins, Master Teague, and Justin Fields combined for 263 yards rushing on that day. With no weather issues, Fields should be able to open it up through the air as well.
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Next … The key players for Ohio State
Two Key Players For Ohio State
Justin Fields, Quarterback. When Justin Fields went down with what looked to be a very bad knee injury, Buckeye Nation held its collective breath. A sigh of relief was felt when Fields came back a few plays later with a new, bigger knee brace on and threw a 30-yard strike to Garrett Wilson in the back of the end zone. Ryan Day called it “a Heisman moment.” The Buckeyes are deep everywhere except at QB. OSU is talented enough to win without Fields, but it certainly would be much more challenging.
Chase Young, Defensive End. Chase Young was held (sometimes literally) in check for the most part against Michigan. Earlier in the year facing the Badgers, Young looked absolutely unblockable, getting to Jack Coan four times and causing two fumbles. As long as the front seven can keep Jonathan Taylor in check and force Wisconsin into obvious passing downs, Young should have a field day all over again.
Next … How it’ll all do down
The prediction
For ordinary teams, it’s never easy beat a team twice in one season. But this is no ordinary Ohio State team. It’s a team on a mission with NFL talent littering the field.
Wisconsin is eager to show it is better than the one-sided affair that took place earlier in the season when the Buckeyes put a 38-7 whoopin’ on the Badgers.
Wisconsin has to come in with a better game plan this time around. The Badgers consistently tried to block Chase Young one on one and at times with only a tight end. It didn’t work then and if they don’t change things up, it won’t work in Indy. Maybe they could employ Michigan’s game plan…
Even if Wisconsin finds a way to contain Young, there’s just too many playmakers on this Ohio State defense. Pair that with Shaun Wade making his return this week and you have a defensive unit with little to no weaknesses.
Ohio State will overmatch a Wisconsin team that just doesn’t have the same kind of playmakers on offense. JK Dobbins is peaking at the right time, as is the emergence of true freshman Garrett Wilson in the passing game to go along with Chris Olave.
The Buckeyes win in a route and secure the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
Final Score
Ohio State 56, Wisconsin 17
Line
Ohio State -16.5
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