Wisconsin Debriefing: Buckeyes Dismantle Badgers, 59-0 for B1G Crown

By Michael Citro on December 7, 2014 at 9:15 am
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Ohio State returned to Indianapolis with a chip on its shoulder, trying to right the wrongs of last season and make its case for the College Football Playoff.

It did so without its preseason Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback, Braxton Miller. It did so without its current Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, J.T. Barrett. It did so without Noah Spence, whose recreational—not performance-enhancing—drug use got him permanently suspended. And it did so without well-liked walk-on defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge, who was found dead on Sunday.

To win the conference championship, the Buckeyes had to deal with a resurgent Wisconsin Badgers team boasting the nation’s number two defense. They’d have to attack that defense with their third-string quarterback who had never started a collegiate game. A leaky rush defense would have to deal with Heisman Trophy candidate Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin’s stellar running back—the best at his position in a conference filled with future NFL rushers.

Would Ohio State be able to overcome the adversity of the previous week? Could the defense finally shut down an elite running back? Would Cardale Jones be able to run the offense efficiently without turning the ball over? Could the offensive line open running lanes against that stout Badger defense?

Hells yes on all accounts. The Buckeyes played their most complete contest of the season and played a focused, well-executed game in all phases. Ohio State held Gordon to just 76 yards and 2.9 per carry, frustrating the Heisman hopeful all night. Jones went 12/17 for 257 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, winning game MVP honors and never having to rely on just his legs. The line gashed huge holes in Wisconsin’s defense and showed Ezekiel Elliott the way to a Big Ten Championship record 220 rushing yards and two scores on 20 carries (11.0 YPA) en route to a dominating 59-0 win.

Here are your talking points from the 2014 B1G Championship Game:

Water Cooler prep (Everything you need to know…in one paragraph)

Jones hit Devin Smith for three long touchdowns, Elliott scored twice and the Buckeyes absolutely pasted the Badgers. The Buckeyes rolled for 301 rushing yards and 558 total yards against Wisconsin’s normally stingy defense. Ohio State took the ball away four times and didn’t turn it over. Wisconsin entered the game having not yielded more than 28 points in any game and the Buckeyes more than doubled that. The game was never close.

Talk before the game  

Former players had a game plan:

Current players knew what they needed to do:

But something bigger than football was on everyone’s mind:

One player took it a step further:

Talk in the aftermath

“That was the absolute best tribute the team could have given Kosta Karageorge.”

 

“I don't think there's any doubt we're one of the top-four teams in America.” – Urban Meyer

Give that man a buckeye leaf (Player of the game)

This was the toughest game of the season to pick a PoG. Jones, Smith and Elliott could all claim it. The offensive line played splendidly. Michael Bennett, Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington and Rashad Frazier led a dominating defensive line. Doran Grant intercepted two passes. Even punter Cam Johnston could make an argument.

In the end, we’re going with Bennett. Wearing Kostageorge’s number, Bennett played like a man possessed, dominating Wisconsin’s offensive line. He finished with five tackles and four of those were tackles for loss. He also had two sacks and forced two fumbles. Bennett saved the best game of his season for when it mattered most.

Did you see that?! (Play of the game)

Speaking of Bennett, he played an integral part of the game’s best play. Ohio State punted inside of Wisconsin’s 5-yard line late in the first half. Wisconsin, already trailing 31-0, played it safe and handed off to their B1G Offensive Player of the Year, Gordon. Bennett penetrated and smacked the ball out of Gordon’s hands. Bosa scooped it up at the 4-yard line and ran it in to put an exclamation point on the first 30 minutes.

Slobber Knocker of the Game

Although it was deemed illegal, it was not. Corey Smith peeled back on a Jones run around the right end and stuck his shoulder pad squarely in the chest of outside linebacker Joe Schobert. After Smith’s shoulder met Schobert, the two players’ helmets may (or may not, it isn’t clear) have met. If they did, it was the side of Smith’s helmet that contacted Schobert’s. The referee called a targeting penalty and replay failed to overturn it. It seemed fairly straightforward that Smith led with the shoulder and any helmet-to-helmet contact was directly a result of a legit hit. But any way you look at it, Smith crushed Schobert. Honorable mention goes to Gareon Conley for a kickoff coverage smackdown on Kenzel Doe in the third quarter.

Jim Tressel's Least Favorite Moment of the game

Tressel watched this game with his wife, Ellen The duo were cuddled up on the couch, huddled beneath one of Ellen’s good quilts, enjoying an absolute beating of the Badgers. Tress was giddy watching Cameron Johnston bomb a 73-yard punt and land another with backspin inside the 5. Midway through the third quarter, the president of Youngstown State got excited when Johnston trotted onto the field with Ohio State punting from its own 34. Wisconsin’s rush pressured the Aussie sophomore into just a 34-yard shank that went out of bounds at the Badgers’ 32.

“I’m not mad,” said Tressel, shaking his head. “I’m just disappointed.”

Even in Indianapolis, Johnston felt a great disturbance in The Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. 

When you sank into your chair (The moment Buckeye football disgraced your family)

He saved it for late in the game, but Kyle Clinton booted a kickoff out of bounds for the seventh time this season. It was the 13th game of the season. It’s hard to fathom how this continues to happen, especially when you consider the fact that last night’s game took place in a dome.

An honorable mention here goes to when Ohio State rushed its field goal unit out onto the field and got a kick blocked instead of challenging Evan Spencer’s outstanding catch and toe tap. It wouldn't have been a first down, but it would have set up a fourth-and-one and do you think Meyer would have sent his kicker out? Me neither.

What you texted your friend at the end of each quarter

First: “Great opening quarter! Now let’s punch this in.”

Second: “Aside from the bogus ejection, that’s a perfect half of football.”

Third: “No, don’t shut down the offense, Tom Herman!”

Fourth: “Best. Game. Ever. This team is definitely one of the four best in the country.”

It was over when

It may well have been over before this, but when Bosa scooped up Gordon’s fumble and walked into the end zone, it was certainly obvious the Badgers could never recover. That made it 38-0 at the half and only a complete nuclear meltdown would have prevented Ohio State from winning and doing it by a sizable margin.

Next up…who knows? We wait for the College Football Playoff Committee to do the right thing. As Meyer said after the game (see above), there is no doubt this is one of the four best teams in the country. Was it one of the best when it lost to Virginia Tech in Week 2? No, of course not. But this team has grown and improved on a weekly basis to the point where there are not four teams better in the country, and there are probably fewer than two. We’ll find out the Buckeyes’ next game today. 

 

 

 

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