When #2 Ohio State plays #8 Wisconsin on Saturday night in Madison, both teams have playoff implications on the line, win or lose.
The Badgers (4-1) can still stay alive in the playoff race if they pull off a win, but are almost certainly eliminated from the conversation if they lose.
Their only loss of the season came to #4 Michigan by a score of 14-7, and if Wisconsin wins out the rest of the way, including the Big Ten Championship Game, they would have a great chance of getting into the final four.
Wisconsin also plays Nebraska in two weeks, which could serve as the Big Ten West Championship, as the Cornhuskers are unbeaten through five games.
For Ohio State, a loss to Wisconsin would not be a death blow to their playoff chances, but it would be an uphill climb the rest of the way.
The Buckeyes still play Nebraska at home, Michigan State on the road, and Michigan at home – none of which will be easy contests.
If Ohio State were to lose to Wisconsin, they could still possibly make the playoff by going undefeated the rest of the way, but the Michigan game in particular would look even more daunting.
Should the Buckeyes do what most expect and come away with the victory, they control their own destiny the rest of the way and are in great position to reach the playoff, with that Michigan game serving as the de-facto Big Ten Championship.
One other scenario to consider is that if #9 Tennessee wins their home game against #1 Alabama, Ohio State would almost assuredly move up to #1 with a win over Wisconsin.
All of this is to say, there’s a lot at stake on Saturday night in Wisconsin, but Ohio State did show signs that they are indeed mortal last week at home against Indiana.
Indiana’s defense made quarterback J.T. Barrett virtually non-existent in the passing game, completing 9-of-21 throws for 93 yards, but he still ran for 137 yards on 26 carries.
The Buckeyes’ rushing attack was as deadly as ever, as the team ran for nearly 300 yards between Barrett, Curtis Samuel, and Mike Weber.
Wisconsin has the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation and it’s unlikely that the Buckeyes will be able to run all over the Badgers like they have done to all five teams they’ve faced so far.
However, it’s worth noting that some of Barrett’s struggles against Indiana were just a case of overthrowing or underthrowing wide open receivers.
Give credit to Indiana’s front seven for bringing pressure and making Barrett uncomfortable, but if he makes even one or two of those throws, his numbers look much different and the Buckeyes may have run away with that game even sooner.
The Buckeyes still won by 21 points and it was their worst offensive performance of the season.
Although Wisconsin has the fourth-ranked scoring defense in the nation, Ohio State is ranked second.
No team has been able to move the ball consistently against the Buckeyes and Wisconsin’s offense is far from impressive.
This game has all the makings of a low-scoring affair, but Wisconsin’s best chance to pull off the upset is to have an all-out dominating night on defense.
They almost pulled it off on the road against Michigan. Now they have the home crowd on their side.
The Oklahoma game was supposed to be a tough test for the Buckeyes, but they stamped their foot down on a team with a sub-par defense.
Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium might be the night where the Buckeyes show the entire nation what their smothering defense is all about.
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