Sanders: Looking back at Ohio State’s stunner over Wisconsin
By BROCK SANDERS
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – I don’t think there could have been a better script written for the Ohio State Buckeyes than there was last Saturday night in Indianapolis.
In fact, the Buckeyes impressed the College Football Playoff committee enough to earn the fourth and final spot in the playoffs. With a 59-0 win over 13th ranked Wisconsin on Saturday, Ohio State now faces No. 1 Alabama in the opening game of the playoffs.
“If that wasn’t one of the four best football teams tonight,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said right before the trophy ceremony, “then I don’t know what you’re looking for.”
As for the game, the Badgers were immediately put in a hole after the Buckeyes took the ball down 77 yards in 2:06, capped off by a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cardale Jones to Devin Smith. From there the Buckeyes never looked back, scoring eight touchdowns on the day, and not allowing a single point to arguably the best running back in the country in Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon.
“We didn’t make any explosive plays,” Gordon said about trying to get out of the hole they dug. “Usually, we have some explosive plays from somewhere but we just couldn’t string them together today.”
One of the stories of the week was Ohio State being on its “third-string” quarterback. Before the season began, the Buckeyes had lost their starter in Braxton Miller, and many felt that backup JT Barrett would not be able to live up to the lofty expectations set for the Buckeyes at the beginning of the season. However the critics were proven very wrong when Barrett threw for 2,834 yards and 34 touchdowns, and ran for 938 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Barrett also was under consideration for the Heisman until he broke his ankle last week in a win vs. arch-rival Michigan.
People around the Ohio State program were careful using the term “third-string” quarterback during the week because they had believed Jones was prepared and ready to be the Buckeyes’ first-string quarterback on Saturday. They were more than correct, as Jones threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns on only 17 attempts. It is rare that a program has three starting-caliber quarterbacks on its team at one time, but that is one of the luxuries that the Buckeyes are able to afford, and it definitely paid off in Indianapolis.
“I think just the maturity,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “I knew he had the talent to throw the ball and execute but I figured there would be first game jitters. There was none of that.”
Jones’ favorite target was Devin Smith, who had 137 yards and three touchdowns on, wait for it, four receptions. Teammates raved about Jones after the game.
“We all had confidence in him.” Smith said. “I played with Cardale back in high school, so I knew what he was about. We knew how the defense was going to play. We watched them on film all week, and when it came time to play, we just executed.”
On a big night for not only the Buckeyes, but also for the Big Ten, Ohio State came out to prove a point. With a win over Alabama, the Buckeyes would take on the winner of Oregon and Florida State for the national championship. Indeed, the Buckeyes made up for their loss last year in the Big Ten championship game last year against Michigan State in a big way.
