Ohio State has been favored in every single matchup this year, but that’s not the case in the Fiesta Bowl. How will Ryan Day handle it?
With the regular season and another Big Ten Trophy in the trophy case at The Woody, Ohio State now turns its eyes towards preparing for the matchup in the desert against the reigning champs Clemson Tigers.
With the recent history against Clemson, it’s an intriguing matchup. Ohio State is 0-3 against the Tigers, and fans would love to get a sour taste out of their mouth after the 31-0 dominating game Clemson pitched against Ohio State in 2016. Could it be that this year will change the narrative against Clemson?
For the first time this year, Ohio State is an underdog in the Fiesta Bowl despite being the higher seed. In just a short week, it went from being the College Football Playoff’s No. 1 team, to now nearly everyone picking the Tigers to beat the Buckeyes and move on to the national title game. While it may be disappointing to many, it could also be just the extra motivation that the team needs to elbow its own way to a national title.
But let’s be clear here. While there are several players that were part of that 2016 team this one is very, very different. Whether it be coaches, players, or schemes, Ohio State is far different than when it got trounced in the desert last time out.
College Football Bowl Games: Times, dates, betting odds, where to watch all 41 bowl games https://t.co/CA6XzHL64M
Some might remember that Urban Meyer was incredible as an underdog with a crazy and somewhat unbelievable 7-0 record. Could Day be just as great with Urban in that category? Day has this calm presence and has faced adversity this year.
While the conference championship game was too close in the first half for comfort, it tested Day and his staff’s resolve, resiliency, and game-management on the biggest stage yet in his young coaching career. When it’s all said and done, all eyes will be eagerly awaiting the matchup in the desert in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl to see how he does.
Maybe he’ll show he can go from underdog to top dog?
Ohio State backup RB Master Teague didn’t get a carry in the Big Ten Championship Game. What’s in store for him in the Fiesta Bowl?
Master Teague was named third-team all big ten this year despite not getting any carries against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin. That certainly makes one wonder how much part Teague will play with Ohio State’s gameplan in the College Football Playoff.
While some may say that Teague is being underutilized, it’s more likely that the dominance of starting running back J.K. Dobbins has taken away snaps from Teague as the Ohio State coaching staff goes with the hot hand and known commodity.
But now, not only does OSU have a fresh Teague, it has a starting running back that’s nearing 2,000 yards on the season.
@MasterTeagueIII ended season with: *840 yds from scrimmage *780 yds rushing at 6.1 ypc *4 catches for 60 yards (15 ypc) *Longest @OhioStateFB run (73 yds) *All BIG Ten 3rd Team * @TheFWAA Freshman All-America Watchlist **And how many quarters did he play? Just sayin. Teeeague! pic.twitter.com/0DruTPrHum
To this point in the season, Teague has almost 800 yards rushing and has proven to be a dynamic complement to Dobbins in the running game. It makes some reminisce about the days of Boom and Zoom which was the combination of Boom Herron and Jordan Hall in 2009.
Dobbins and Teague though have better eye-popping stats, with the duo looking at the possibility of rushing for over 2,800 yards on the season once the curtain falls on the 2019 postseason.
So what does all of this mean for the Fiesta Bowl and hopefully beyond?
Of course we’re still going to see a ton of J.K. Dobbins, but look for Teague to be used in short yards situations, or as Dobbins gets gassed from the pounding he is likely to take against Clemson’s defensive front.
No matter what happens, with Dobbins expected to exit the college stage to the NFL after this season, it will most likely be Teague as the featured back next year. He looks to be the next one in the long lineage of great running backs in Ohio Stae history. Buckeye fans can certainly be excited about the future of Master Teague.
But first, I have a feeling we’ll see him a bit more on December 28 when Ohio State tries to slay the defending national champions and earn a spot in the New Orleans for a chance to win a national championship of its own.
Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins has had one whale of a year. There’s one milestone that’s still attainable that would put him in rare company.
Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins has had himself one whale of a year. As of right now, he is second on the all-time career list for total career yards, and yards in a single year. But is it a legitimate reality that Dobbins could break the 2,000-yard threshold this season?
Let’s dive into the numbers.
As of right now, JK Dobbins has 1,829 yards on the season, which means he could hit the mark in one game if he has a game for the ages in the Fiesta Bowl. But if Ohio State was to make it to the national championship game, he would be almost a shoe-in.
The mind-blowing reality is that Dobbins has done all this without rushing in the second half of four games. Imagine if he played four quarters of every game. He would have likely already eclipsed the 2,000 yard mark for the year.
2019 CFB Rushing YDS Leaders
Chubba Hubbard OKST – 1,936 Jonathan Taylor WIS – 1909 JK Dobbins OSU – 1,829 A.J. Dillon BC – 1,685 Jaret Patterson BUFF – 1,626 Malcolm Perry NAVY – 1,500 Travis Etienne CLEM – 1,500 Kenneth Gainwell MEM – 1,425 Javian Hawkins LOU – 1,420
If Dobbins were to break the 2,000 yard mark he would be the first player in Ohio State history to rush for that many yards in a season. It is noted he would also have played in more games in a season to attain that mark.
No matter what happens though, Dobbins will forever leave a great legacy at Ohio State, it just might be a little sweeter with a win over Clemson in the desert night on December 28.
The 2019-2020 Big Ten bowl season has some very attractive games… and some clunkers. It’s good to know which games you need to set aside time for, and which games you can occasionally look in on while you do household chores, errands, or spend quality time with family during the holiday season. We wouldn’t want you to think you need to set aside three and a half hours for Illinois in the Redbox Bowl. That time is better spent with family.
The big games, though, merit your attention. If you love college football (or hate Minnesota, or both), you want to watch the Outback Bowl this bowl season. It’s a very interesting game between two fascinating, hard-to-read head coaches. What’s good? What’s worth ignoring? Those are meaningful questions. We at Badgers Wire are here to help you put the Big Ten bowl games in their proper place, so that you can spend time wisely during the holidays.
We start with the worst bowl game and work our way up to the best:
9 – Redbox Bowl
Illinois vs. California — Monday, Dec. 30 — 4 p.m. Eastern, FOX
We shouldn’t laugh at Illinois, given that it beat Wisconsin. Yet, Illinois got dump-trucked by Northwestern, at home, in its regular-season finale. Illinois made some forward strides this season, but it’s still Illinois until it can beat Northwestern. Remember the “Cheez-INT Bowl” last year with California and TCU? This game could be as bad. Hopefully, it will be bad in a hilarious way, not in a boring way. That might be this game’s redeeming quality: comedic potential.
8 – Pinstripe Bowl
Michigan St. vs. Wake Forest — Friday, Dec. 27 — 3:20 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
Friday afternoon. Holiday season. Are you REALLY gonna tell a spouse or parents or kids that you simply HAVE to watch Michigan State, an eroding program under Mark Dantonio, go against Wake Forest in a baseball stadium? I thought so. Michigan State is a program in decline. A win here doesn’t really change that equation.
Tennessee beat one team with a winning record in its eight-game SEC schedule: 7-5 Kentucky. Indiana didn’t beat a single Big Ten team with a winning record. These teams are bowl teams because they beat bad teams. If you want to go out of your way to watch this game, know that you’re probably desperate for any college football on the day after New Year’s Day… which is a reasonable instinct, but not something you have to feel especially proud about.
It’s Nick Saban versus Jim Harbaugh. This is a game to watch very eagerly and intently in the first quarter. Will this be a game worth watching late in the second quarter, though? We will see. Will this game be worth watching midway through the third quarter? Skepticism about Michigan’s ability to hang with Alabama puts this game lower on the list.
5 – Cotton Bowl
Penn State vs. Memphis — Saturday, Dec. 28 — Noon Eastern, ESPN
Michigan-Alabama has more sex appeal, but this is more likely to produce a close game. The noon start on playoff semifinal day buries this game. If you had made me commissioner of college football, I would have had Penn State play Georgia in the Sugar and either Florida or Baylor play Memphis. (Note: Wisconsin basketball plays Tennessee during this game, so that’s why it’s hard to put this game any higher than No. 5.)
4 – Holiday Bowl
Iowa vs. USC — Friday, Dec. 27 — 8 p.m. Eastern, Fox Sports 1
This is a poor man’s Rose Bowl: A 3-loss Big Ten team against a Pac-12 team with a lot of firepower on the West Coast. Iowa’s defense versus USC’s offense will be worth the watch. Iowa contained Minnesota (and gave Wisconsin a path to both the Big Ten Championship Game and the Rose Bowl). Now the Hawkeyes go against USC quarterback Kedon Slovis, who is legitimately good, and the elite USC receivers, who are almost as good as Alabama’s receivers. (ALMOST, not quite.)
Minnesota beat Penn State. Auburn beat Oregon and Alabama. These teams got smacked in November – Minnesota by Wisconsin, Auburn by Georgia – but have solid resumes. They both have aggressive, unconventional coaches, P.J. Fleck and Gus Malzahn. This isn’t a familiar bowl matchup (unlike, say, Iowa versus Florida or Michigan vs. USC). It is fresh and new. The quality of the teams is very good. This is better than Michigan-Bama UNLESS the Wolverines offer the Tide a surprisingly close contest.
2 – College Football Playoff Semifinal — Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State vs. Clemson — Saturday, Dec. 28 — 8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
We can all look at this matchup and acknowledge it COULD be a tremendous game, an all-time college football classic. There is so much to love about this game: Justin Fields vs. Trevor Lawrence, J.K. Dobbins vs. Travis Etienne, Ohio State’s offensive staff vs. Brent Venables, Chase Young vs. Clemson’s front four. This is a walking NFL Scouting Combine in Glendale, Arizona. It could be sensational. I don’t have this game No. 1 because I am skeptical that a Clemson playoff semifinal will be very close. Not one Clemson semifinal (not even the one Clemson lost in the 2018 Sugar Bowl to Alabama) has been close.
1 – Rose Bowl
Wisconsin vs. Oregon — Wednesday, Jan. 1 — 5:05 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
My skepticism about Clemson playoff semifinals being close games is why Badgers-Ducks is No. 1. This is a game which has some of the qualities of the Holiday (Iowa-USC) and Outback (Minnesota-Auburn) Bowls, but on the grandest stage in college sports: The Arroyo Seco, in the shadows of the San Gabriel Mountains. It has the best chance of being close. It is going to look the best on television. Just take a look at this photo from the last Wisconsin-Oregon Rose Bowl. This is eye candy for college football fans:
Jan 2, 2012; Pasadena, CA, USA; General view of the 2012 Rose Bowl between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Oregon Ducks and the San Gabriel Valley mountains. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Previewing Wednesday’s Michigan Wolverines vs. Illinois Fighting Illini sports betting odds and lines, with college basketball betting picks and tips.
The Michigan Wolverines (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) and the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3, 0-1) square off at State Farm Center at 9 p.m. ET in a Big Ten Conference clash. We analyze the Michigan-Illinois odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.
Michigan at Illinois: Three things you need to know
1. The Wolverines were drummed 58-43 at No. 1 Louisville Dec. 3, but they rebounded with plenty of anger, topping the Iowa Hawkeyes 103-91 at Crisler Center Dec. 6. While they lost the road game to the Cards, they do have impressive late November wins over then-No. 6 North Carolina (73-64) and then-No. 8 Gonzaga (82-64) on a neutral floor at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.
2. Michigan is 41-18-2 against the spread in the past 61 against teams with a winning overall record.
3. Illinois is 2-6 ATS in the past eight against teams with a winning overall record.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!
Michigan at Illinois: Odds, betting lines and picks
MICHIGAN (+115) is going to win this game outright. An elite team, which beat Gonzaga and North Carolina, isn’t going to lose to an ordinary Illinois club, which has losses to Arizona, Miami (Fla.) and Maryland.
MICHIGAN (+1.5, -110) is worth a rather sizeable bet if you can afford it from your bankroll. Juwan Howard’s club is going to steamroll Illinois (-1.5, -110) on the road in Champaign. The Illini are improving, especially with dynamic freshman C Kofi Cockburn, but they’re not quite there yet.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Michigan to stay within 2 points in a loss or win outright would profit $9.09 if it does so.
OVER 142.5 (-110) is the play in this one. I love the Wolverines and the Over as part of a multi-unit parlay. If you’re looking to make a little cheddar on Hump Day, that’s the way to go.
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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KNOXVILLE — As Tennessee’s football team prepares for its first bowl game in three years, the Volunteers will get ready to face Indiana from the Big 10 in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tennessee has played a Big 10 team in a bowl game 15 times and the Volunteers have an 11-4 record.
Tennessee has two losses to Penn State, one two Iowa and one to Purdue. The Vols have a bowl loss to Nebraska when the Cornhuskers were in the Big 12. UT is 0-3 against Penn State since 1991. The Nittany Lions are 2-0 against the Vols as a member of the BIg 10.
Penn State also beat Tennessee, 42-17, in the Fiesta Bowl following the 1991 season when the Nittany Lions were Division I Independent.
The Volunteers beat Nebraska, 38-24, in their last postseason appearance in the Music City Bowl following the 2016 season when Tennessee finished 9-4.
All-time scores: Tennessee vs. the Big Ten in bowl games
The Wisconsin Badgers finish 11th in the Amway Coaches’ Poll.
Following a hard-fought loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Wisconsin Badgers finished at No. 11 in the final pre-bowl edition of the Amway Coaches’ Poll, just barely losing the top-10 spot they had last week.
The Amway Coaches’ Poll does not determine the bowl placements, but it is certainly interesting to use the coaches’ rankings as a guide for what the playoff committee will do. As you can see, the LSU ranking at No. 1 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll was agreed with by the playoff committee, which put LSU as the No. 1 seed against No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl. Ohio State’s win over Wisconsin did not lift the Buckeyes to the top spot. OSU is seeded second and will face No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, the other playoff semifinal.
LSU keeps No. 1 ranking ahead of Ohio State in final Amway Coaches Poll of regular season. Will the playoff comittee agree? https://t.co/WbQpg4F5Zr via @USATODAYsports
Overall, the Badgers (10-3, 7-2 Big Ten) have to be unhappy with the result against Ohio State. Yet, their level of play in the first half was the best we saw all season long, especially when measured against the caliber of opposition.
The No. 11 ranking is not a scandal in and of itself. Wisconsin wasn’t going to rise in the rankings with a loss. However, it seems dubious at best to think that several of the teams placed ahead of Wisconsin deserve to be ranked higher than the Badgers.
Baylor is No. 8. Yes, the Bears played Oklahoma really tough on two occasions, but the Bears lost both times. Where is Baylor’s big win, comparable to Wisconsin’s win at Minnesota and the Badgers’ other quality win over Michigan? There is no comparison. Wisconsin should clearly be ranked higher than Baylor.
Alabama is No. 9. The Crimson Tide got this spot based on reputation, not on quality wins. The Tide didn’t beat any of the other top teams in the SEC. Alabama lost to LSU and Auburn. It didn’t play Georgia or Florida.
Utah is No. 10. The Utes didn’t beat a single team with eight or more wins this year. Yet, the Utes finished ahead of the Badgers. Wisconsin fans can laugh at Baylor, Bama, and Utah finishing ahead of the Badgers in the final pre-bowl coaches’ poll of 2019.
Wisconsin is still one of an impressive six Big Ten teams in the Amway Coaches’ Poll. The Big Ten conference has proven yet again to be one of the toughest football conferences in the country, with six Big Ten teams just inside the top 20 of the poll. Penn State was one spot behind Wisconsin at No. 12. Minnesota was 16th, Michigan 17th, and Iowa 19th.
When and where the Wisconsin Badgers lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes: a third-quarter drive.
The sky was not falling — not yet — for the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin’s botched punt in its own third of the field did not lead to an OSU touchdown, to the surprise of many. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields missed an easy throw, denying the Buckeyes a tying score. Wisconsin still led, 21-17, in the third quarter. The roof had not caved in. The Badgers still had a decent chance to win and had to feel good about where they were — not GREAT, but still good, after OSU failed to score seven points and forge a 21-21 tie.
Things looked really good when the Badgers converted a third and five and then drove to the Ohio State 20. A field goal? Piece of cake, with Zach Hintze on the job after his 62-yard field goal against Purdue a few weeks earlier. Being at the OSU 20, Wisconsin was in range for a kick just under 40 yards. No problem. The Badgers were going to get at least a seven-point lead and restore a sense of order. Ohio State was going to have a tough climb after blowing that touchdown opportunity in the red zone a few moments earlier, following the botched Badger punt.
And then it happened. Then came the sequence which — more than any other — ruined Wisconsin’s night.
Holding. Sack. Missed 48-yard field goal. Yes, many other plays and sequences hurt the Badgers, but remember: Ohio State had just faltered. The Buckeyes squandered a chance to score a touchdown. We have all seen hundreds of games in our lifetimes in which a team making a comeback suddenly stubs its toes, and the team with the lead responds with a big drive to blunt the rally. Wisconsin was about to blunt Ohio State’s rally… until it wasn’t. When Wisconsin came away with nothing on that drive, to stop OSU’s run and score its first points of the second half, that’s when a sense of dread was impossible to ignore or hold at bay.
Sure enough, THEN the dam broke. Then Ohio State scored touchdowns on its next possessions for a 31-21 lead. Wisconsin never did score a point in the second half. Ballgame.
If you think the 3rd and 18 failure by the defense was a bigger play, that’s a fair point. It’s a perfectly valid argument. However, Ohio State was already leading at that time, and the Buckeyes were going to get another chance to take the lead or add to their lead later in the fourth quarter. The Wisconsin third-quarter drive which sputtered after reaching the OSU 20 occurred when the Badgers still had a lead and still had the expectation they could control the game’s tempo and contours.
Yes, you can say that the 3rd and 18 breakdown was a bigger moment, and I won’t spend time fighting that argument. However, for my money, a third-quarter drive which was about to restore Wisconsin’s upper hand — until it didn’t — was the real moment this Big Ten Championship Game slipped away.
Alas, a loss. That first half deserved a better outcome. Wisconsin simply couldn’t finish what it started against Ohio State.
The Ohio State Buckeyes held on to the No. 2 spot behind the LSU Tigers in the final regular-season Amway Coaches Poll of 2019.
The Ohio State Buckeyes stayed at the No. 2 spot in the final Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports of the 2019 regular season.
The margin to No. 1 LSU increased a little this week. Last week, the Buckeyes received 17 first-place votes and trailed LSU by only 29 points. The voters were apparently more impressed with LSU’s domination of Georgia than with Ohio State’s comeback win over Wisconsin, as the Buckeyes received only 14 first-place votes this week, and trail LSU by 43 points. One of Ohio State’s first-place votes went to No. 3 Clemson, which picked up five first-place votes.
Wisconsin fell one spot, from No. 10 to No. 11, for its loss. That drop was only due to Pac 12 champion Oregon jumping all the way to No. 6. The Badgers stayed ahead of No. 12 Penn State, which bodes well for Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl dreams–especially if the selection committee does the same.
No teams fell out of the rankings this week, as Virginia managed to hold on to the No. 25 spot even after being demolished by Clemson.
The Big Ten leads the way with six ranked teams, followed by the SEC with five. The Pac 12 and American Athletic Conferences each had three ranked teams, while the ACC, Big 12, and Mountain West each had two. One Sun Belt team (No. 20 Appalachian State) and one Independent (No. 14 Notre Dame) were also ranked.
Praising Jack Coan for his performance against Ohio State.
Jack Coan of the Wisconsin Badgers ended the 2019 college football regular season in a very different place, and in a very different way, compared to his worst moments in the second half of October.
Coan wasn’t particularly consistent. He wasn’t especially precise. He certainly couldn’t have been viewed as a dynamic, equation-changing quarterback in the latter half of October, when Wisconsin was ambushed by Illinois and couldn’t muster much of anything against Ohio State in Columbus. Was Coan going to recede into memory as a forgettable quarterback with modest talent and unremarkable performances in big games, or was he going to grow and not give up on his team, his season, or — most of all — himself?
Jack Coan clearly answered those questions against Minnesota, but just in case anyone doubted that he could play equally well (actually, even BETTER) against the big, bad Buckeyes of Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, Coan offered his response: YES, I can and I will be better.
His first half on Saturday night in Lucas Oil Stadium was his best half of football as a Wisconsin Badger. He hit all the right notes. He made all the right decisions. He showed a new level of elusiveness and athleticism in the pocket. He made Ohio State look slow. How many quarterbacks do that?
Coan stood at the center of a brilliant first half. If Quintez Cephus had made a few more catches, Wisconsin might have scored even more than 21 first-half points against the Buckeyes. As it was, Coan threw down a standard of performance which gave his team a chance to win. Yes, Coan was a little less precise in the second half, but for the most part, the players around him stopped making the routine plays which had put UW ahead by 14 points. If a punt isn’t botched, if a field goal had been made, and if a 3rd and 18 had been stopped, this game would have come down to the wire. Coan didn’t get the chance to lead UW on a game-winning drive.
The final drive he actually led, though, was symbolic of his performance: resolute, tough, fearless.
If you are an older football fan, this next video will be familiar. If you are a younger fan, you should watch it because of its cinematic brilliance. NFL Films created such a large and towering mythology surrounding professional football as the Super Bowl became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s. Videos like this next one show why.
Go to the 19:45 mark of this video. You will find these words when Roger Staubach and the Dallas Cowboys were desperately trying to come back against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIII:
“As they drove down the field again, it was an appropriate occasion to summon up the old cliches which salute gallant losers who play on for pride and self-respect when all hope of victory has vanished. But NO. This was a team that truly believed it still could win.”
– John Facenda, NFL Films
“Battle of Champions” – Super Bowl XIII documentary
January 1979
That, folks, was Jack Coan on the final drive, heaving the ball into traffic because he had to, and couldn’t play it safe. That was Jack Coan on the final play of the game, running furiously toward the end zone, willing himself toward the goal line with all his might, trying to notch another touchdown which might have been the difference between the Badgers getting the Rose Bowl and falling short.
Jack Coan spilled his guts. He gave his body and soul to Wisconsin and his teammates. He played like a champion and showed the heart of a warrior.
Is this hyperbolic embellishment? It sounds like it… but when you think about the man who played very ordinary football against Illinois and Ohio State in October, and you then consider what Jack Coan has become — and how he comported himself these last two weeks against Minnesota and Ohio State — this transformation into a bold leader of the Wisconsin offense makes Coan a Badger we won’t forget. This 2019 season has had many heroes, but Coan’s ability to step up in the two biggest games of the season will not soon be forgotten by Wisconsin fans.
Jack Coan did not fade into the mists of obscurity. He gained a lasting place in the hearts of Badger fans everywhere.
