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.