Ohio State smashes Wisconsin to win Big Ten, shows it's playoff-worthy

Published Dec. 7, 2014 4:30 a.m. ET

Bruce Feldman

INDIANAPOLIS — Last year when Ohio State came here to play in the Big Ten title game, Cardale Jones wowed his teammates. Of course, it was for something the reserve QB did during warmups. He went to the 50-yard line, kneeled down and fired a pass through the uprights, displaying his powerful arm.

This year, though, Jones wowed everyone in Lucas Oil Stadium with what he did during the game, sparking the Buckeyes to a 59-0 blowout of Wisconsin and giving OSU its first Big Ten title under Urban Meyer. It was Ohio State's biggest win ever over a top-15 opponent and a heckuva statement to the playoff committee that the Buckeyes should vault into the top four.

"It was a huge statement," Jones said. "I mean we played a great, great team, the No. 2 defense in the country and we put up 59 points on them. And they have the best running back in the country."

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Jones, a redshirt sophomore, looked like a future NFL prospect in his first start, standing poised in the pocket while showing off that terrific arm strength but also a deft touch with accuracy, too. He opened the game 7 of 9 for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and the rout was on. The Buckeyes rolled up 558 yards on what had been, statistically, the nation's No. 2 defense. And that was with OSU throttling down midway through the second half.

"Cardale did great — I'm proud of him," said J.T. Barrett, the OSU QB who emerged as a star this season before fracturing his ankle last week. Barrett had been pressed into action on the eve of the season after Big Ten MVP Braxton Miller was lost for the year with a shoulder injury. All week, Ohio State teammates and coaches have spoken a lot about not only how gifted the huge Jones is, but also about how far he's come from a maturity standpoint since arriving in Columbus.

"He's one of the most improved players I've ever been around," Meyer said. "It wasn't pleasant his first year here."

The fact that Ohio State has a third-string quarterback who could play at this level, when most schools struggle to find one QB who can play, is remarkable and a testament to offensive coordinator and QB coach Tom Herman. The Buckeyes’ 39-year-old playcaller has shown a golden touch developing his QBs, but also piling up points no matter how much turnover or attrition Ohio State has. Last year, Herman showed OSU could be a force with Miller's backup Kenny Guiton. This year it wasn't just having to replace Miller after the injury, but also bruising RB Carlos Hyde and four O-linemen. No matter, the Buckeyes still are averaging 45 points a game.

Asked how he slept on Friday night in anticipation of this matchup, Herman said, "Like a baby. Not to sound coy or confident, but we've got a good team with a great culture, and the quarterback position is just one piece of that."

He's right. You could've made a good case for at least five different Buckeyes winning MVP Saturday night: Jones; running back Ezekiel Elliott, who ran for 220 yards; wideout Devin Smith, who had four catches for 137 yards and three TDs; defensive tackle Michael Bennett, who had four tackles for losses and two forced fumbles; and safety Vonn Bell, who had a team-best seven tackles and one interception and was as responsible as anyone for bottling up Badgers star Melvin Gordon, who managed just 76 yards on 26 carries.

Bell, a sophomore, said he was told on Monday by Meyer that he was going to be the free player to spy Gordon all over the field. "I told him, I got him all day," Bell said, beaming.

Gordon came into the game with 31 carries of 20 yards or more, and 16 of those carries had gone for at least 40. Against Bell and the Buckeyes, his longest run was just 13 yards.

"We knew we had to be really aggressive and be gap-sound," standout linebacker Joshua Perry said.

In truth, it's hard to say which was more impressive Saturday night: the Buckeyes’ offense or the D that completely shut down a guy likely to become the Heisman Trophy runner-up next week. The performance came at the end of what may have been the most emotionally draining week a Meyer team has ever had. Not only was Barrett lost for the season and needed to be carted off the field against archrival Michigan, but the next day walk-on defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge, one of the most boisterous guys on the team, was found dead.

Bennett, one of Karageorge's closer friends on the team, wore his No. 53 against Wisconsin to honor him, and the senior responded with a dominant performance.

"Our guys played their hearts out," OSU D-line coach Larry Johnson said. "We were playing for a special guy tonight" in Karageorge.

Said Bell, who just couldn't stop smiling, "Our emotions were crazy."

On Sunday, the Buckeyes figure to be headed for another emotional ride. Will they pass TCU and (fellow Big 12 co-champ) Baylor to crack the top four? They have the worst loss of the three, losing by two TDs early in the year at home to Virginia Tech, but they also have as many wins over teams in what'll likely be Sunday's top 25 — two — as Baylor, and the Buckeyes’ wins were both on the road. And they have one more top 25 win than TCU, which has only a win at home over K-State.

Will that be enough to convince the committee to make the move? We'll see.

One thing is for sure: No team in the country has proven to be more resilient.

Bruce Feldman is a senior college football reporter and columnist for FOXSports.com and FOX Sports 1. He is also a New York Times best-selling author. His new book, The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks, came out in October, 2014. Follow him on Twitter @BruceFeldmanCFB.