I got the opportunity to watch the Big Ten Championship game that was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this weekend. It was an exciting game and I have to say, Wisconsin played a brilliant first half of football... Then the second half came.
I came into this game fairly certain that Ohio State was going to come away the victor. I didn't think the game was going to be a walk-over like some of their other ones, but given the talent on the team it should have been a solid win.
After the first half of football, I started having my doubts about that. I knew that the Buckeyes would make some adjustments going into the second half, but I wasn't sure it would be enough to counter the commanding presence the Badgers seemed to have on the field.
Sadly, the 21 points Wisconsin took into halftime would be the last points of the game they would score. Instead, Ohio State proceeded to shut them out the entire second half and tally up 27 points of their own to claim the Big Ten Championship 34 to 21.
Slightly surprising to me is the fact that whoever set the odds had them pretty close. Ohio State was the favorite by 16 points and they ended up winning by 13 points.
Every touchdown that Ohio State scored in the second half was through the air. They also kicked two field goals which tells me that Wisconsin' defense was trying, but maybe they were getting a bit winded by the end of the game. Being able to hold a team with such an explosive offense like Ohio State to three points is a plus.
It's safe to assume that the Buckeyes really locked down on their defense coming into the second half and that didn't allow the Badger offense enough time on the field to give their defense a rest.
It is interesting to note that this somewhat sloppy win over Wisconsin was enough to move the Buckeyes from number 1 to number 2 nationally. I am guessing the more convincing win of LSU over Georgia is what warranted their move to the top spot.
Ohio State faces off against Clemson on December 28th for a chance to play in the College Football Championship game on January 13th.