Ohio State football: 4 things to watch against Wisconsin

J.T. Barrett’s first title game

You read that right. This is J.T. Barrett‘s first title game while wearing an Ohio State uniform. He was injured in 2014 as a redshirt freshman. Ohio State didn’t play in the Big Ten championship game in either 2015 or 2016. Unless you count last season’s College Footballl Playoff semi-final game, Saturday’s contest is the first one for Barrett where they hand over a championship trophy at the end.

We’re not going to relitigate Barrett’s big game performances over his career. We all know he’s had his ups and down in key moments, but Ohio State is not a national power during Urban Meyer’s tenure in Columbus without Barrett being the engine the drives the offense. Before Barrett was hurt against Michigan, he was keeping the offense moving forward with his running ability enough to tie the game at the half. It was Barrett that engineered a come back win against Penn State and it was Barrett who earned his third Big Ten Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year Award, making him the only player ever to do so.

Barrett underwent knee surgery earlier in the week and has been cleared to play. If healthy, Barrett will start the game. But how effective will he be? How many times can Barrett plant his foot and break a run to gain a first down before his knee causes him problems? How long until Wisconsin forces Barrett the passer to beat them instead of Barrett the dual threat?

There’s no way Barrett comes out of this game unless he cannot physically play. We saw Dwayne Haskins play well against Michigan, but Wisconsin and the Big Ten Championship are too important for Barrett to stand on the sidelines. For J.T. Barrett, this is his chance to hoist a Big Ten title trophy the he won for the first time in his career.

Game Prediciton

Wisconsin is the real deal on defense, which is why the score will be so close. Ohio State’s defense will take a punch early, looking like the early onset of the Michigan game. But adjustments from both side (the Buckeyes shoring up the edges and Wisconsin bottling up Barrett) keep the score close.

I actually don’t think Ohio State wins this game because Dwayne Haskins just isn’t ready to push the Buckeyes over the top and Barrett is not 100%. It’s not that Ohio State will play poorly, but Wisconsin will play just a little bit better.

Final Score: Wisconsin 24, Ohio State 20