B1G Championship game: Ohio State v Wisconsin

B1G Championship: OHIO STATE v WISCONSIN

                                    December 6 2014       Lucas Oil Stadium       Indianapolis, IN

Wisconsin Badgers

Location : Madison, WI

Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium (80,321)

Coach: Gary Andersen (2^nd year): 19-6 at Wisconsin/49-37 overall, 13-4 v B1G, 0-1 v OSU

Series: OSU 56, Wisconsin 18, 5 ties

Last Meeting: 9/28/2013: OSU 31, Wisconsin 24

Last Wisconsin win: 10/16/2010: Wisconsin 31, OSU 18

Coach Meyer (3^rd year): 35-3 at OSU, 139-26 overall, 27-2 v B1G, 2-0 v Wisconsin

2013 Wisconsin Badgers (9-4)(6-2)                          2013 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2)(8-1)

45        Massachusetts               0                                40        Buffalo                        20

48        Tennessee Tech             0                                42        San Diego State            7

30        at Arizona State          32                                52        at California                34

41        Purdue                         10                                76        Florida A&M                0

24        at Ohio State               31                                31        Wisconsin                    24

35        Northwestern                6                                40        at Northwestern          30

56        at Illinois                     32                                34        Iowa                            24

28        at Iowa                          9                                63        Penn State                   14

27        Brigham Young          17                                56        at Purdue                       0

51        Indiana                          3                                60        at Illinois                     35

20        at Minnesota                 7                                42        Indiana                         14

24        Penn State                   31                                42        at Michigan                 41

24        South Carolina            34                                24        Michigan State            34

            (Capital One Bowl)                                                     (B1G Championship)

                                                                                    35        Clemson                      40

                                                                                                (Orange Bowl)

2014 Wisconsin Badgers (10-2)(7-1)                        2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1)(8-0)

24        at LSU (Houston)       28                                34        at Navy (Baltimore)    17

37        Western Illinois             3                                21        Virginia Tech              35

S13                                                                              66        Kent State                     0

68        Bowling Green            17                               

27        South Florida              10                                50        Cincinnati                    28

14        at Northwestern          20                                52        at Maryland                 24

38        Illinois                         28

O18                                                                             56        Rutgers                        17

52        Maryland                       7                                31        at Penn State               24 (2OT)

37        at Rutgers                      0                                55        Illinois                         14

34        at Purdue                     16                                49        at Michigan State        37

59        Nebraska                     24                                31        at Minnesota               24

26        at Iowa                        24                                42        Indiana                        26

34        Minnesota                   24                                42        Michigan                     28

D6       Ohio State                                                                   Wisconsin

            (B1G Championship)                                                  (B1G Championship)

            Ohio State offense v Wisconsin defense: The Buckeyes face another stingy defense as Wisconsin ranks 4^th in the nation in scoring defense and second in total defense, giving up only 260 yards per game.  Under defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, Wisconsin operates an aggressive 3-4 front and a cover 3 in the secondary with one of the safeties playing up against the outside run.  Up front, the Badgers come with a pair of experienced seniors Konrad Zagzebski and DE Warren Herring.  Zagzebski comes into the game pretty active for a NG, totaling 17 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.  Herring adds 12 tackles and a tackle for loss, but the most pleasant surprise on the defensive line has been freshman Chikwe Obasih ,who has stepped up in the latter half of the season, recording 18 tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.  The quick, aggressive Wisconsin linebackers are led by senior ILB Marcus Trotter.  Second on the team with tackles with 75, Trotter also has 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery as he has shown to be a handful for opposing offenses to contain.  He is joined by fellow classmate Derek Landisch on the inside, who is just behind Trotter in tackles (70) and boasts a whopping 14.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks.  Landisch also is adept at covering the tight end as his efforts in pass coverage have yielded an interception and three pass break ups.  Joe Schobert and Vince Biegel have been very active on the outside with 61 and 54 tackles respectively and have been deadly on blitzes as Biegel has a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, while Schobert comes in with 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.  Their performance this year is a major reason why this defense ranks among the best in limiting opponents’ third down conversions.  The Wisconsin secondary is led by junior SS Michael Caputo.  Equally adept at pass coverage and run support, he leads the team in tackles with 93 and also has five tackles for loss.  Sure tacklers Sojourn Shelton and Darius Hillary add a very physical presence in that secondary, as does FS Lubern Figaro.  The Wisconsin defense figures to be even more aggressive with Cardale Jones making his first start replacing the injured J.T. Barrett.  The Buckeyes have not gotten a lot from their drop back passing game over the last three games, and the Ohio State offense may just need Jones to hit a few throws. This will likely come as quick hitch and slant routes against soft cover 3 corners, and vertical throws off of play-action.  Jones has shown the ability to make these throws, and they allow Jones to make quick decisions and not go through intermediate progression routes in the middle of the field, where interceptions for an inexperienced quarterback are more likely. Such routes, combined with wide receiver screens, the running back swing screen and the touch pass, should be enough to support the Buckeye run offense.  Cardale Jones has not shown an ability to run with such effectiveness in short yardage, so look for Jalin  Marshall at quarterback in third and short or medium situations with plays such as counter trey.  In the run game, look for the Buckeyes to utilize more power and quarterback counter trey. Such plays not only go off tackle outside Wisconsin's  defensive ends, but also reduce Jones' reads in the run game.

                                                         Michael Caputo

            Ohio State defense v Wisconsin offense: The Buckeye defense, which has been vulnerable against good running backs, faces the premiere running back in the country.  Melvin Gordon has already run for over 2000 yards, including for over 400 against Nebraska in a game in which he sat out the fourth quarter.  Joel Stave is an experienced quarterback who has struggled at times, but he has a huge offensive line to help keep him upright.  He doesn’t put the ball in the air that much, but when he does, Stave has been rather efficient and he will look for his favorite target, WR Alex Erickson who has 44 catches for 651 yards and three scores.  Stave will also look for his TE Sam Arneson.  Typical for a Wisconsin tight end, Arneson has a good set of hands and runs short and medium routes very well.  The senior-laden offensive line is also typical Wisconsin; behemoths who rarely make mistakes.  Led by guard Dallas Lewallen on the left side, guard Kyle Costigan and tackle Rob Havenstein on the right, they are the main reason why the Badgers offense has averaged 40 points and 482.7 yards per game over their current seven game win streak and outscored those seven opponents by an average of 22.4 points and outgained them by an average of 240.4 yards.  Look for the Ohio State defense to probably utilize quite a bit of cover 1 with either Vonn Bell or Tyvis Powell playing up close and aggressive against the run.  Wisconsin doesn’t have a big-play receiver like they had with Jared Abbredaris last year, so it may be easier for them to force Wisconsin out of their comfort zone.  The Badgers may counter by utilizing two tight end sets, so Darron Lee as well as Bell and Powell may be far more aggressive near the line of scrimmage and allow corners Eli Apple and Doran Grant to play more man coverage.  The Ohio State defense must maintain its intensity. The Buckeyes play well for stretches, only to hit lulls where it seems everyone is waiting for someone else to make a play. It is incumbent upon the Ohio State defense to limit the Badgers' rush efficiency. They cannot leave the Buckeye offense with a new quarterback with only nine possessions, as occurred against Michigan Saturday.

                                                    Melvin Gordon

Special Teams: True freshman Rafael Gaglianone has stepped in with excellent results in the kicking game, making 17 out of 20 field goal attempts for the Badgers with a long of 51.  Drew Meyer is in his third year of punting for Wisconsin and he has averaged 37.5 yards per punt.

SUMMARY: The B1G Offensive Player of the Year will be the stiffest test yet for an Ohio State defense that has been up-and-down against the run, but if they can somehow keep Gordon from running wild and hold him under 150 yards, they may force Stave to try to make plays through the air to move the ball, which he has not done this year.  Keeping Jones upright and letting him manage the game with attacking the perimeter with throws to Jalin Marshall and Michael Thomas could open the way for Ezekiel Elliott to get yards between the tackles.  But the fact Wisconsin has their main star and Ohio State does not may be the deciding factor late in the game.

                                                        WISCONSIN 31, OHIO STATE 28