Ohio State Football: J.K. Dobbins proves he’s the best back in college football
On a day when he was needed the most, Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins proved why he is the best in college football.
Winds were howling and rain was falling in Saturday’s game with Wisconsin. If ever there was a game Ohio State needed star running J.K. Dobbins back to perform well it was this one. And boy did he ever.
The final stat line was impressive: 20 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Dobbins was responsible for 221 total yards of offense.
Dobbins and the Buckeye offensive line just wore down the Badgers’ defensive front seven all day. That opened up the flood gates in the second half when Ohio State out scored Wisconsin 28-7.
J.K. also caught key third down conversion passes in the first half to keep his offense on the field.
But it was in the second half where Dobbins really started flexing his muscle. Early in the third quarter after the Badgers scored to cut the lead to 10-7. Dobbins then ripped off a 26 yard run to the Wisconsin 10 yard line. That set up a Justin Fields’ touchdown run.
On the Ohio State’s next possession, after a nice Garret Wilson punt return Dobbins scampered into the end zone from nine yards out. Wisconsin then proceeded to turn the ball over on downs.
Dobbins came back on the next drive to go in untouched from 14 yards to make it 31-7. That was the ball game.
All week the Buckeyes heard how great the Badgers’ rushing attack was, and they weren’t getting the same amount of attention. The players certainly used that as motivation.
This from offensive lineman Wyatt Davis via Cleveland.com:
"“We all took that to heart, that they were all put above us, especially on the offensive line,” Davis said. “I know J.K. definitely was. He definitely wanted to get some revenge for all the stuff that was going on. And he came out and played hard.”"
Jonathan Taylor came into this game with all the accolades as the nation’s best rusher, which was well deserved. Taylor has 1,009 yards rushing this season and 15 touchdowns. But it was Dobbins who left the field on Saturday with a performance the country will remember.
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With 1,110 yards rushing this season and a big time performance like this under his belt, it should be Dobbins who gets a seat in New York as a Heisman trophy finalist and not Taylor.