Big Ten Championship Preview: Badgers are not an underdog
The Wisconsin Badgers will be a different team than the one Ohio State faced in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game.
For the first time in three seasons, Ohio State returns to the Big Ten Championship Game.
At first glance, can the storylines be more similar?
J.T. Barrett gets injured against Michigan and may not play, the opponent is Wisconsin and there is a potential College Football Playoff berth on the line.
What is different are the coaches on the other sideline and that could be the difference in this game.
The head coach in 2014 was Gary Andersen, who was to Wisconsin what Rich Rodriguez was to Michigan. Oil and water.
Paul Chryst and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard are fantastic coaches tailor-made to run the Badgers program.
Their team is built for games like this, and unlike the Big Ten Championship Game in 2014, this one will be a slugfest.
Right now no one is respecting Wisconsin. The Badgers are underdogs and most of the debate among the experts is whether Ohio State or Alabama deserves the coveted fourth spot.
That should concern all of Buckeye Nation.
I am wondering which Ohio State team shows up on Saturday given the distractions.
Notwithstanding the spectacle surrounding Tennessee’s complete witch hunt on Greg Schiano, will Barrett’s injury hurt game preparation?
More importantly, if Barrett’s not at least 80-percent healthy, will Urban Meyer take the ball away from his popular star?
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On paper, each team has only one sizable advantage. For Ohio State it’s at quarterback. Barrett has thrown for 2728 yards, 33 touchdowns and has only thrown seven interceptions.
Alex Hornibrook has thrown for 2157 yards, 21 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
For Wisconsin, the advantage is its defense which is allowing 12 points-per-game and has given up just 15 touchdowns.
The Silver Bullets have allowed 32 touchdowns and are giving up 19.8 points-per-game.
Since both teams are pretty evenly matched, odds favor this game coming down to fundamentals and big play capability.
Tackling well, protecting the ball and red zone offense and defense are always important, but It will come down to which team can make plays down the field more consistently.
The more accurate quarterback will lead their team to a Big Ten Championship.
Next: Two Buckeye offenses employed in ‘The Game’
That favors Ohio State, but something tells me Wisconsin has a few tricks up its sleeve to pull off the upset.