Heading into the Big Ten Conference Championship game, the Ohio State Buckeyes knew they needed to win with style points over the Wisconsin Badgers to have a legitimate shot at reaching the College Football Playoff. With a third-string quarterback, the Buckeyes were actually the underdog, but it didn’t take long for sophomore Cardale Jones to flaunt his talents.
By: Ian Wharton
En route to a 59-0 rout, the Buckeyes got enormous games from a trio of seniors. The most highly touted of the group is defensive tackle Michael Bennett. Bennett has been terrific in the last two months, dominating with his burst off the line and terrific hand use. He faced two talented interior linemen for the Badgers in Dallas Lewallen and Kyle Costigan, but he exposed each as lesser athletes and logged two sacks and a forced fumble.
Other Notes
-Outside of the hashes, cornerback Doran Grant continued his growth as a senior, intercepting two passes and allowing just once completion on seven targets. Grant has good size at 5’11”, 190 pounds, but he’s struggled with consistency in coverage and locating the ball. His next challenge will be Alabama’s Amari Cooper, so the Buckeyes will need Grant to again play an excellent game in that matchup.
-Wide Receiver Devin Smith has vaulted his stock this year, and Saturday was another big game in his belt. It wasn’t that Smith had three touchdowns and 134 yards; it was how he earned those totals. Smith showed the ability to track the ball, adjust mid-air and highpoint the football over the defender. Those skills were in major question entering the season, and yet Smith looked like a season veteran against the Badgers.
– Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon had his second-worst game of the season, averaging just 2.9 yards a carry against Ohio State. Wisconsin’s lack of a passing game finally bit them hard, and Ohio State’s speed and ability to effectively set the edge contained all of Gordon’s predictable bounceback runs. Gordon showed the tendency to stop his feet in the backfield and try to get outside of the assigned running lane, but the Buckeyes snuffed it out. Gordon is a great college back with good upside as a draft prospect, but he’s going to have to win between the tackles more effectively and not go down so easily.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
