Ohio State jumped out to an early 21-7 lead on Wisconsin before turnovers made things closer than expected but a stout defense and an MVP performance from freshman running back J.K. Dobbins gave the Buckeyes the win, and with it, the Big Ten championship.
J.T. Barrett showed incredible heart and grit after undergoing knee surgery last Sunday, tallying 271 total yards and three touchdowns although he had some struggles including tossing two interceptions leading to 15 Badger points.
While the final score was closer than the talent gap on the field, Ohio State's win thrust it into contention for the final College Football Playoff spot with Alabama.
Whether the Buckeyes make the playoff field or not, we'll know who their next opponent will be early this afternoon.
Before we shift focus to what's next for Urban Meyer's squad, here are Five Things from Ohio State's Big Ten championship victory over Wisconsin.
KNEEDING CONSISTENCY
J.T. Barrett gave both his detractors and supporters more ammunition as he miraculously took the field following Sunday knee surgery, made a few clutch, pinpoint throws, cranked out some big first downs with his legs – all while handing Wisconsin 15 points following two interceptions (one a pick six) and completing less than 50% of his passes.
Giving his team a lift by showing his toughness before the game began, Barrett hit Terry McLaurin with a dime for an 84-yard touchdown on Ohio State's second possession.
He then backed up that throw with a poor decision, putting a pick six on a platter for outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel tying the game at 7-7.
Barrett would later find Parris Campbell on a short route before Campbell's speed turned it into a 57-yard score. A Barrett rushing touchdown followed giving OSU what looked like a comfortable 21-7 lead.
But late in the opening half Barrett missed two wide open shots for touchdowns as he overthrew K.J. Hill on a post three plays before another errant toss went over the head of a lonely Johnnie Dixon behind the Badger secondary keeping the Buckeye lead at 21-10 entering the break.
Starting with the Iowa game, Barrett is completing just 53.7% of his throws with 10 touchdowns against eight interceptions. In the nine games prior, Barrett completed 69.5% of his throws with 25 touchdowns against one interception.
The second half featured another huge interception as Barrett made an uncharacteristically poor decision trying to hit Marcus Baugh on a doomed 3rd-and-4 rollout. Baugh was sliding into the right flat but behind the line of scrimmage (let alone the sticks) and well-covered but instead of throwing it away, Barrett tried to reach Baugh who had zero chance for a first down even if he caught the pass aimed behind him.
The end result was an interception as Baugh got one paw on the throw, tipping it to Wisconsin's Leon Jacobs at midfield. The Badgers converted the miscue into a touchdown trimming OSU's lead to 24-21.
As a supporter of Barrett's during his entire tenure (and I continue to believe he should without question continue starting), a fair assessment again gives him credit for the positives noted above but also recognizes the 46% completion rate last night including 1-of-8 passing on third down, along with the 38% rate against Michigan (15 of 34 last two games) is the product of a much different J.T. than we saw in the middle of the season.
I'd love nothing more than to see Barrett get right and go out with a bang but there's no denying he's been a different quarterback throwing the football starting with the Iowa debacle. Over that five game span he's completing just 53.7% of his throws with 10 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
In the nine games prior, Barrett completed 69.5% of his throws with 25 touchdowns against one interception.
USING J.K., I GOT TO SAY IT WAS A GOOD DAY
J.K. Dobbins put up his second-most rushing yards of the year in Ohio State's biggest game, churning out 174 yards on just 17 carries, good for 10.2 a pop, in a championship game MVP performance.
Dobbins now has six games of at least 100 yards rushing this season including three of his last four outings, coming against what were supposed to be elite run defenses in Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Last night's effort was huge as the offense needed a boost with Barrett running hot and cold and Dobbins delivered like a seasoned veteran despite appearing in just his 13th collegiate game.
Dobbins' 77-yard run setting up a touchdown making it 21-7 good guys inflated his yards per carry number but he still averaged a stellar 6.1 yards per carry on his 16 other tries featuring a lethal jump cut and solid power finishing runs.
With at least one game left in his true freshman season, Dobbins is now Ohio State's all-time freshman rushing leader with 1,364 yards (M. Clarett, 1,237 in 2002).
He also seems like a hell of a kid and teammate as illustrated by his comments giving all praise to his offensive linemen as he accepted the game MVP trophy from Archie Griffin.
LARRY JOHNSON IS A DAMN WIZARD
Facing tailback Jonathan Taylor and the nation's top-ranked rushing attack, Ohio State needed a big game from Larry Johnson's defensive line and once again the group responded as the Buckeye front swallowed up a Wisconsin offensive line chock full of hogs.
With Dre'mont Jones and Tracy Sprinkle tying up gobs of blockers, fellow linemates Nick Bosa and Jalyn Holmes, as well as the linebackers, largely roamed free making plays as the Buckeyes held Taylor to 41 yards on 15 carries with a long rush of seven yards.
In fact, Taylor's 2.7 yards per carry was by far his worst mark of the season, ahead of the 4.2 he tallied against Northwestern. He rushed for at least 5.7 yards per carry in Wisconsin's other 11 games.
Collectively, the Badgers ran it 32 times for 60 yards – that's 1.9 yards per carry – while the Buckeye front also harassed quarterback Alex Hornibrook into a 48% completion rate with two interceptions.
Holmes was everywhere with five tackles and a QB hurry alongside Bosa's latest gem featuring four stops, two TFL, a sack and a pair of hurries. Sam Hubbard chipped in a hurry and a couple stops and Tyquan Lewis logged a late game sack.
Hell of a night from Johnson's group.
SPEAKING OF LINE PLAY..
Ohio State's defensive line stole the show but the Buckeye offensive line also had itself a day against what was statistically a dominant Badger front seven.
In pass protection, the group gave Barrett all day to throw on nearly every drop back, yielding just one sack and two TFL on 68 total plays.
Facing the nation's top-ranked run defense, Billy Price, Jamarco Jones and company helped Buckeye ball carriers go for 5.7 yards per carry on the way to 238 yards on the night against a squad giving up just over 90 rushing yards entering the championship.
When running the ball on third down, Ohio State converted five of eight chances.
Greg Studrawa's group lives in the shadow of Larry Johnson's electric defensive front but there's no question Ohio State's rushing attack boasting the eighth-best yards per carry average in the country (5.88) is anchored by Jamarco Jones, Michael Jordan, Billy Price, Demetrius Knox and Isaiah Prince.
B1G PLAYS PRODUCE B1G TITLE
Facing a Badger defense giving up just 237 yards per game, Ohio State blasted that number on just four chunk plays going for a combined 271 yards with two touchdowns.
- 84 yards - Barrett's 84-yard connection with Terry McLaurin midway through the first quarter capped a four-play, 96-yard drive giving the Buckeyes an early 7-0- lead.
- 57 yards - Barrett hit Parris Campbell in the right flat and with the Badgers in man coverage the rest of the left side of the field cleared out, allowing Campbell to slip a tackle and dust a linebacker in pursuit putting the Buckeyes in front 14-7 late in the first quarter.
- 77 yards - Two possessions later, J.K. Dobbins got loose for a 77-yard gainer before running out of gas as the Buckeyes moved the ball from the OSU 22 to the Wisconsin 1 yard line. Barrett's keeper on the next snap made it 21-7 good guys with 11:10 left in the second quarter.
- 53 yards - On Ohio State's second possession of the second half, Dobbins raced 53 yards to the Badger 12 yard line setting up a 27-yard field goal and a 24-13 OSU lead midway through the third quarter.
With those four plays going for 271 yards, the Buckeyes averaged only 2.8 yards on their other 64 offensive snaps but that was enough to hoist the B1G trophy.
