Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Ohio State Football: 3 takeaways from 2017 Big Ten title win over Wisconsin

By Connor Muldowney

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 02: Quarterback J.T. Barrett #16 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks to pass against the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 02: Quarterback J.T. Barrett #16 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks to pass against the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

Ohio State football took down Wisconsin in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game and here’s what we learned from the Buckeyes’ win.

Did you expect a down-to-the-wire Big Ten title game? If you did, you were content and if you weren’t, you were probably pleasantly surprised — unless you’re an Ohio State fan. Although they were ranked No. 8 to Wisconsin’s No. 4 spot in the polls, the Buckeyes were considered heavy favorites to win the title.

However, Wisconsin kept it close and proved that its 12-0 regular season record wasn’t a fluke, taking Ohio State down to the wire and forcing the Buckeyes to sweat out a victory. It wasn’t easy and Urban Meyer has to be happy that his team found a way to win the close one against a potential playoff team.

Although Ohio State likely isn’t headed to the playoff itself, it will rest easy knowing that it will get a shot at a New Year’s Six bowl.

What did we learn from the Buckeyes’ 2017 Big Ten title victory over Wisconsin?

3. Wisconsin is better than we thought

While this isn’t exactly an Ohio State takeaway, it deserves to be noted. Wisconsin didn’t get enough credit for being an undefeated team heading into the Big Ten title, but the Badgers definitely silenced some doubters with how they played against a high-powered Ohio State team.

The defense struggled early with some big plays, but it settled down and made more tackles at the line of scrimmage. The stats look extremely lopsided, but it was because of the turnovers Wisconsin forced inside Ohio State territory which set up short fields and the big plays allowed.

Clearly Wisconsin was rattled early on, but they settled down to force the Buckeyes into some uncomfortable situations.

The one major weakness for the Badgers has to be the passing game. Alex Hornibrook made some poor passes all game long and it might be time for the Badgers to move on from the sophomore gunslinger next year. If that’s the case, the Badgers might just be a national title contender once again in 2018.

Home/Ohio State Buckeyes