Mission accomplished; but will it be enough to crack the Top 4?
The Buckeyes annihilated the Badgers in all phases en route to a resounding 59-0 victory – and they did so with third-string quarterback Cardale Jones making his first career start. Jones’ inexperience didn’t matter, though. Jones played a fantastic game, completing 12-of-17 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Each of those scores were on deep balls to Devin Smith (four catches, 137 yards) of 39, 44, and 42 yards.
Sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott had a huge game for the Buckeyes as well. On 20 carries, Elliott racked up 220 yards and two touchdowns. His 81-yard score in the first quarter was the first indication that the Badgers were in for a rough ride.
Overall, the Buckeyes, with their dominant offensive line, registered 558 yards of total offense against the nation’s second-ranked defense that allowed an average of only 260 yards per game all season.
While the offense continued to tack on points, the Ohio State defense was arguably even more impressive. It limited Wisconsin’s offense to just 258 yards (many of which came in garbage time) while running back Melvin Gordon, the nation’s leading rusher, was held to just 76 yards on 26 carries – a 2.9 yard average compared to the 8.0 yards per carry average he put up through the regular season. With Gordon getting consistently swallowed up, the Badgers had to go to the air more than they hoped. That didn’t work either.
It was a complete and thorough beatdown for 60 minutes.
There were no signs of any nerves for Jones despite making his first start on a huge stage. He completed his first three passes of the game – the third of which went to Smith for a 39-yard touchdown. If that didn’t settle him in, Elliott’s 81-yard scamper off a read option certainly did.
While the defense continued to stymie the Badgers, Jones and the offense scored points on their next three drives via a field goal and two touchdowns to go up 31-0 with 6:36 left in the first half.
The defense capped off the perfect half when defensive end Michael Bennett forced a Gordon fumble and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Joey Bosa returned it four yards for a touchdown to make it 38-0.
Ohio State took its foot off the gas pedal a bit in the second half. Jones hit Smith for a third time early on in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes mainly kept the ball on the ground and chewed up clock on the ground with Elliott and Curtis Samuel, who added two late touchdowns.
The win improved Ohio State’s record to 12-1 on the season, but will that one loss – a week two home setback to 6-6 Virginia Tech – end up costing the Buckeyes a spot in the College Football Playoff?
The four teams ahead of Ohio State in the CFP rankings – Alabama, Oregon, TCU and Florida State, along with No. 6 Baylor – all took care of business this weekend. The fourth-ranked Seminoles completed an undefeated season with a close win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship.
It’s hard to see the committee keeping the defending national champions out of the playoffs, so that final spot probably comes down to Ohio State and the Big 12 co-champions, TCU and Baylor.
Baylor beat TCU 61-58 on Oct. 11, and committee chair Jeff Long said Saturday morning that head-to-head wins and losses have not been factored into the rankings yet. With Sunday’s final rankings coming, that comment makes it sound like Baylor would be ranked higher than TCU with both teams finishing the season at 11-1 and the Bears winning the head-to-head matchup.
At that point, does Ohio State and its 11-game winning streak, capped off by Saturday night’s statement over Melvin Gordon and the Badgers, have a better resume than the Bears? The argument certainly can be made and the committee will have a hard time keeping the Buckeyes out of that No. 4 spot.
Luckily, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
For more Wisconsin news, visit BadgerBlitz.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Ohio State destroys Wisconsin to win Big Ten, but will the Buckeyes crack the Top 4?
No comments:
Post a Comment