As the days grow shorter, so does the time before we get to declare a Big Ten champion. Wisconsin will take on Ohio State this Saturday hoping for a fourth Big Ten title in five years and a perfect 3-0 record in Big Ten title games.
However, there’s a really good Ohio State team staring them in the face, and while OSU is without star quarterback J.T. Barrett it still has plenty to offer in this game. So, let’s take a look at what the Buckeyes will offer up against UW’s defense.
Starters:
WR: Evan Spencer – Sr. (6-2, 208) – 13 receptions, 129 yards, 3 touchdowns
WR: Michael Thomas – So. (6-3, 203) – 40 receptions, 639 yards, 8 touchdowns
H-Back: Jalin Marshall – Fr. (5-11, 205) – 26 receptions, 356 yards, 6 touchdowns; 19 carries 129 yards, 1 touchdown rushing; 14.1 yards per punt return (1 return TD)
TE: Jeff Heuerman – Sr. (6-5, 255) – 17 receptions, 207 yards, 2 touchdowns
RT: Darryl Baldwin – Sr. (6-6, 307) – started every game this season at RT
RG: Pat Elflein – So. (6-3, 300) – started every game this season, 3 starts at LG, 9 at RG
C: Jacoby Boren – Jr. (6-1, 285) – started every game this season at C
LG: Billy Price – Sr. (6-4, 312) – started every game this season, 3 starts at RG, 9 at LG
LT: Taylor Decker – Jr. (6-7, 315) – making 27th career start, most experienced O-Lineman
RB: Ezekiel Elliot – So. (6-0, 225) – 1,182 yards, 6.0 ypc, 10 touchdowns, 98.5 yards per game
QB: Cardale Jones – So. (6-5, 250) – 10-17, 118 yards, 2 touchdowns
Team Rankings: (Stats/B1G rank/National Rank)
Scoring Offense: 44.1ppg/1st/5th
Total Offense: 503.4ypg/1st/11th
Rushing Offense: 257.4ypg/3rd/12th
Passing Offense: 246.0ypg/2nd/51st
3 Keys to Badgers Success:
1. Make Cardale Jones one-dimensional: UW head coach Gary Andersen believes there won’t be much change in the scheme with Jones in place of Barrett, and he’s probably right. What made OSU so dangerous was the big play running ability of Barrett. Jones has shown the capacity for the big run in his mop-up duty over this season, so keeping him from getting lose in the run game would give the Badgers a better chance of shutting down the overall big play ability of the Buckeyes’ offense.
2. One-on-one tackling: The Buckeyes thrive on big plays in space more so than pounding the ball down your throat. If Wisconsin wants to make sure they aren’t getting burned by said big plays it would certainly help to win the one-on-one battles that are sure to come about. Wrapping up and not allowing broken tackles is going to be key in this matchup, and that has been an issue over the last few weeks for the Badgers D.
3. Force some turnovers: Ohio State can’t score points if it’s turning the ball over, and that seems like a pretty good idea to me. The problem is Wisconsin hasn’t been very good at forcing turnovers all season long. It ranks 10th in the Big Ten in forced turnovers (17) and have a -2 turnover margin. The good news is that after forcing just one fumble in the first five Big Ten games, UW has forced six fumbles in the las three games. If it can force a few on Saturday that will slow down anything OSU wants to do.
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