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Ohio State Football: 5 predictions for Big Ten Championship game

By Frank Teriaca

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 01: J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates with the Big Ten Championship Trophy after the win against the Northwestern Wildcats during the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 01: J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates with the Big Ten Championship Trophy after the win against the Northwestern Wildcats during the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, WISCONSIN – OCTOBER 05: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs for yards during a game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN – OCTOBER 05: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs for yards during a game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

The Ohio State football team looks to grab another Big Ten title against Wisconsin on Saturday. Here are five predictions for the big game.

The Big Ten Championship is here upon us once again. The Ohio State football team (12-0) is 16-point favorite over the Wisconsin Badgers (10-2) for Saturday’s 8 p.m. showdown on Fox.

Before the game kicks off it will have been a busy week for the Buckeyes. The Early Signing Day is about two weeks away and Ryan Day and Mark Pantoni look to close out another stellar class of recruits.

247 sports ranks the Buckeyes fourth in the nation with 25 hard commitments expected to be signed including wide receiver Julian Fleming, the nation’s number two overall recruit.

The only question remaining with this class will be if Ohio State grabs a second quarterback commit or not. With Jack Miller already in the fold, the Buckeyes are looking to secure a second quarterback to fill out the room.

Ohio State has offered CJ Stroud and Jayden de Laura scholarships within the past month. Will one of them bite? We are two weeks away from finding out.

Also, this week multiple Buckeyes have taken home hardware and honors. Head coach Ryan Day has won the Big Ten Coach of the Year and Chase Young earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Seven Buckeye defenders earned All Big Ten honors as well. The offensive players are expected to be announced later today.

Now let’s get to the game with five predictions.

Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor will get 100 yards rushing

It’s been well documented that the Wisconsin running back has struggled going up against Ohio State in his career. With only 93 yards rushing in two games against the Scarlet and Gray, Jonathan Taylor’s performances have been underwhelming. And it has hurt Wisconsin.

With a 27-21 loss in the 2017 Big Ten Championship game and a 38-7 route earlier this season in Columbus, the Badgers could have used some ground and pound to eat clock and keep two talented Buckeye offenses off the field.

But did Michigan give the Badgers hope in establishing a ground game? The Wolverines couldn’t commit to a running game because they got down big in the second half, but before that Hassan Haskins was having success.

With 12 rushes for 78 yards in the game, Haskins had an impressive 6.5 yards per rush average. If Wisconsin’s offensive line learned from the mistakes in the first game, Jonathan Taylor may be able to exploit an Ohio State defensive line that gave up some running room last week.

Look for Taylor to get the monkey off his back as he rushes for 110 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown in this game. However, will that be enough for a Big Ten Championship?

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