Ohio State needed less than two quarters to prove it's a playoff team

Published Dec. 6, 2014 10:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 59-0, to win the Big Ten championship, but let's put the first half in a little perspective since that's all you needed to see to know the Buckeyes are a playoff-caliber team.

No. 13 Wisconsin entered the game against No. 5 Ohio State with the fifth-best defense in the country at 4.36 yards per play. Here are some other nuggets about that Badgers' D entering the game and what Ohio State did in the first half.

* Wisconsin ranked fourth in the country at 16.8 points allowed per game. Ohio State scored 38 in 30 minutes.

* Wisconsin ranked second with 156.6 passing yards per game. Ohio State racked up 211 in two quarters.

* Wisconsin ranked eighth with 103.75 rushing yards per game. Ohio State totaled 153 before halftime.

* Wisconsin ranked first with 13.3 first downs allowed per game. Ohio State had 15 with the third and fourth quarters still to play.

The Buckeyes took a 38-0 lead into the half as Cardale Jones, Ohio State's third-string QB making his first career start, went 10-of-13 for 211 yards and two TDs with zero interceptions.

Gus Johnson summed up precisely what America was saying while watching the Buckeyes (click the X over the audio icon in bottom right corner if you can't hear).

Yeah -- it's safe to say Ohio State proved in less than two quarters that it's worthy of a playoff spot. On Sunday, the committee agreed, making the Buckeyes the No. 4 seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff.