Big Ten (Actually 14) Championship Game: Buckeyes and Badgers are Ready

Badgers Getting Little Respect Outside Big Ten

The fans at Lucas Oil Stadium will enjoy the Big Ten Championship game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes when they take their seats on Saturday. FOX Sports has the television coverage and kickoff is set for a few minutes after 8 pm EST. The winner of this matchup should set themselves up nicely to reach the College Football Playoff. Few of the so-called “experts” on TV, and sports talk radio, have any respect for the Wisconsin Badgers. This should have given the team a lot of bulletin board material. Oddsmakers opened the Buckeyes as -6.5-point favorites versus the Badgers, while the game’s total opened at 53.5. The Line now has the Buckeyes as 3.5-point favorites. The total is now at 50.5.

Ohio State Facing Injury Problems

Ohio State won its last outing, a 31-20 result against the Michigan Wolverines on November 25. The Buckeyes failed to cover in that game as a -12.5-point favorite, while the 51 combined points took the game OVER the total. The Buckeyes enter the game with uncertainty at quarterback. J.T. Barrett underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Sunday but is expected to play. There’s a possibility that Ohio State might need to call on redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins. Haskins came in against Michigan during the third quarter and led Ohio State’s fourth-quarter comeback. Barrett leads the Big Ten in touchdown passes with 33. He is second in total offense. He has broken numerous school and Big Ten records. Barret tied  Art Schlichter’s school record for quarterbacks with 36 wins. Freshman J.K. Dobbins is second in the Big Ten in rushing. He is behind Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor. Dobbins has 1,190 yards on the season.

Badgers Enter the Big Ten Championship Unbeaten

In their last action, Wisconsin was a 31-0 winner on the road against Golden Gophers. They covered the -18-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (31) was profitable news for UNDER bettors. The Badgers enter the contest against the Buckeyes with an unblemished record. They are 12-0, with a 9-0 Big Ten record. There are plenty of skeptics who dismiss Wisconsin’s postseason chances. The yapmasters say the Big Ten West Division was subpar and weak. Wisconsin’s best chance to win revolves around freshman running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor has run behind a massive offensive line for 1,806 yards this season.  He leads the Big Ten in rushing. Wisconsin also will try to control the line of scrimmage on defense. Its defense leads the Big Ten in fewest rushing yards allowed per game at80.5. They also lead intotal yards, at 236.9 ypg, and points allowed per game. They only give up 12 a contest.  

Recent Form

Yards Per Point

Yards Per Pass

Yards Per Rush

Ohio State Buckeyes

Wisconsin Badgers

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	43.75	5	12.00	2
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	34.83	26	19.83	21

Head To Head Summary

Head To Head Detail

Big Ten Betting Trends

Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Ohio State is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Ohio State’s last 9 games
Ohio State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Wisconsin
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Wisconsin
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Ohio State’s last 6 games when playing Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Wisconsin is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Ohio State
Wisconsin is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Ohio State
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Wisconsin’s last 6 games when playing Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes

Wisconsin Badgers

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