Whew.
That was a Big Ten football game. Ohio State found themselves in an early 21-7 hole at the half thanks to Wisconsin putting on a show in the first frame, but it was all Buckeyes in the second half, outscoring the Badgers 27-0, to win the game and therefore their third straight Big Ten championship.
The Short Story
Wisconsin elected to receive the opening kickoff and promptly drove down the field and scored on a long Jonathan Taylor run. The Badgers dominated the first half, save for one Buckeye touchdown.
The second half was the exact opposite. Ohio State scored five times (three touchdowns and two field goals) and held Wisconsin to a total goose-egg on the scoreboard.
Justin Fields was named MVP after throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns (174.2 rtg).
"That was as good of an effort as maybe I’ve ever seen from a quarterback, especially an injured quarterback," Urban Meyer said of Fields' second-half performance.
Play of the Game
Rather than doing "players of the game," this catch by Jeremy Ruckert was so good that it deserved its own section.
It's no secret that Fields was a little bit off on some of his throws yesterday, probably at least partially due to playing with a sprained MCL, but Ruckert bailed him out with this impressive one-handed grab. It was an impressive snag by the true sophomore and really helped to keep momentum on the side of Ohio State.
I Don't Really Know How Jim Tressel Felt About This
Ah, another night game. Not Jim's favorite, since he prefers "lights off" at around 9:15 every night, but he had to put off his sleep to watch the Buckeyes take on the Badgers, a team Tress knew all too well.
With the Buckeyes trailing 14-0 and deep in their own territory, Ryan Day made the biggest call of the season when he called for a fake punt.
It was ultimately successful (although the Buckeyes wouldn't score on the drive), but every fan across the midwest held their breath for a few seconds on this one, including Jim, who started hyperventilating after the play and had to be calmed down by his lovely wife Ellen.
The rumor is flying around that Tressel shot a text to Day asking him to warn fans next time he is going to try something like that.
Biggest Question Going Forward
This should be pretty obvious, right? Where is Ohio State going to be seeded in the playoff?
It will come down to Ohio State vs. LSU for No. 1 and it is reasonable to expect either team to ultimately be placed on top.
It would appear that Ohio State has a slight edge based on the paper résumé, but the committee could elect to place LSU, who had a convincing victory over No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, ahead of the Buckeyes.
Why is this so important? It is the difference between playing an elite Clemson team who looks pretty dang good right now, or an Oklahoma team that has been beat once and almost beat two other times.
This! pic.twitter.com/J9LfSwB76C
— Jeff (@AyeJefferson) December 8, 2019
Second-Half Adjustments
I remember my dad telling me a few years back that the Buckeyes were the "anti-Bengals" in terms of making second-half adjustments and comebacks and how we should enjoy it even more because we don't see it as often (as we are Bengals fans).
It seems this year that every single time the Buckeyes run into a problem, they are able to properly fix it at halftime and make the correct second-half adjustment.
It truly is a sight to see watching how the coaching staff is able to fix problems in the 20-or-so minutes they get at the break. It has been an impressive effort by all hands in the Buckeyes program so far this season, and now they will get rewarded with a date against either Clemson or Oklahoma.
