THE RUNNING START
When: Saturday, December 2, 2017
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV: 8:17, FOX
Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft
This is the 82nd time Ohio State and Wisconsin will play each other in football. The Buckeyes are 58–18–5* all-time against the Badgers. Paul Chryst's team enters this contest with an unblemished 12–0 record in 2017.
Wisconsin and Ohio State** have played in the most Big Ten Championship games since its inception in 2011. This will be the Badgers' (2–2) fifth appearance and the Buckeyes' (1–1) third.
*NCAA sanctions be damned.
**Tied with Michigan State.
Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.
THE LAST TIME...
- Ohio State played Wisconsin, the Buckeyes won 30-23 last year in Madison.
- The Buckeyes played the Badgers in Lucas Oil Stadium, Ohio State won 59-0 in 2014.
- An Urban Meyer Ohio State team faced a higher ranked Big Ten opponent was 2014. The Buckeyes beat Michigan State 49-37.
- The Buckeyes lost the 13th game of the season was last year against Clemson.
ON THE HORIZON
- Ohio State is playing for its 36th Big Ten Championship in football.
- A victory will earn the Buckeyes their 20th outright title increasing its conference lead.
- J.T. Barrett is one win away from owning the most career wins as a starting quarterback at Ohio State. He is currently tied with Art Schlichter with 36.
- J.K. Dobbins (1,190 yards) is 48 yards away from passing Maurice Clarett (1,237) as the leading freshman running back in Ohio State's history.
- Jordan Fuller has 57 tackles and might become the seventh non-linebacker in Ohio State history to lead the team in tackles. Damon Webb is second on the team with 52 stops. The leading linebacker is Jerome Baker with 51 total tackles.
- Barrett is tied with Joe Germaine with eight 300-yard passing games. He is one 300-yard game from holding the outright record.
- This is the 207th game in Urban Meyer's career. Among active coaches, he has the highest winning percentage (.849) and is ranked third in the history of Division I history.
- Since 1890, the Buckeyes are 7–9 (.438) in the 13th game of the season, but are 2–1 when the 13th contest is not a bowl game.
- This will be the first time Ohio State is not the higher ranked team in the Big Ten Championship game.
University of Wisconsin
GET TO KNOW WISCONSIN
- The campus is located in Madison, WI.
- The university was founded in 1839.
- The Badgers are 12–0 this season.
- Wisconsin is 61–19 (.763) since 2012.
- Paul Chryst's team defeated Minnesota 31-0 last week.
- Since joining the Big Ten, That Team is 373–370–41 (.502) against conference opponents.
TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
- Wisconsin will be the higher ranked team on Saturday. How many other times has an Urban Meyer Ohio State team faced a higher ranked Big Ten team?
- Counting Saturday's game against the Badgers, how many times has an Ohio State team coached by Meyer been the lower ranked team against any opponent?
- How many times has an Ohio State team under Meyer not been ranked?
Answers at the bottom of today's article.
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| OFFENSIVE LEADERS | ||||
| J.T. BARRETT | 2,728 YDS // 33 TD // 7 INT | PASSING | ALEX HORNIBROOK | 2,157 YDS // 21 TD // 13 INT |
| J.K. DOBBINS | 1,190 YDS // 7.3 YPC 7 TD | RUSHING | JONATHAN TAYLOR | 1,858 YDS // 7.1YPC // 13 TD |
| PARRIS CAMPBELL | 530 YDS // 2 TD | RECEIVING | QUINTEZ CEPHUS | 501 YDS // 6 TD |
| DEFENSIVE LEADERS | ||||
| JORDAN FULLER | 54 | TACKLES | RYAN CONNELLY | 71 |
| NICK BOSA | 6.0 | SACKS | GARRET DOOLEY | 6.0 |
| DAMON WEBB | 3 | INTERCEPTIONS |
TJ EDWARDS JOE FERGUSON |
4 |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| K.J. HILL | 4.2 YPR | PUNT RETURNER | NICK NELSON | 9.0 YPR |
| PARRIS CAMPBELL | 36.6 YPR | KICKOFF RETURN | AJ TAYLOR | 23.9 YPR |
| DRUE CHRISMAN | 43.7 | PUNTING | ANTHONY LOTTI | 39.5 |
| 6 | EDGE | 4 | ||
THE COACHES
Urban Meyer
- 71–8 (.899) at Ohio State (6th year)
- 175–31 (.850) overall (16th year)
- 47–3 (.940) Big Ten regular season conference record
Paul Chryst
- 33–6 (.846) at Wisconsin (3rd year)
- 52–25 (.675) overall as a college coach (10th year)
- 22–4 (.846) Big Ten regular season conference record
CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER
- Ohio State has won a Big Ten record 504 conference games and have the best winning percentage in the conference (.737).
- The Buckeyes first game against Wisconsin was in 1913, the Badgers won 12-0 in Madison.
- Ohio State has won at least 10 games in a season for the sixth consecutive year and 16th time in 17 seasons.
- This will be the fourth straight time Ohio State and Wisconsin have faced each other as ranked foes.
- Sam Hubbard had a team-high 2.5 sacks in the win over That Team.
- Wisconsin's is ranked No. 1 in the country in rushing and total defense.
- Tyquan Lewis has 21.5 career sacks. 1.5 more will place him on Ohio State's Top 5 list.
- Ohio State has won 14 of the last 16 against That Team, including five straight. NCAA sanctions be damned.
- Sean Nuernberger has made 171 consecutive extra points.
- Nick Bosa leads the Buckeyes with 12.5 tackles for loss.
- 2010 was the last time Wisconsin beat Ohio State. OSU has won eight of the last nine games in the series.
- Buckeye teams under Urban Meyer have scored 50 or more points 23 times. The Scarlet and Gray won all of those games.
- Ohio State's offense leads the Big Ten averaging 250.3 rushing yards per game.
- This will be the first time the Buckeyes play a game on December 2nd.
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| OFFENSE | ||||
| 43.8 | 5th | POINTS FOR | 34.8 | 26th |
| 250.3 | 13th | RUSHING OFFENSE | 243.3 | 18th |
| 279.5 | 27th | PASSING OFFENSE | 182.8 | 97th |
| 529.8 | 4th | TOTAL OFFENSE | 426.0 | 42nd |
| .497 | 4th | 3rd DOWNS | .506 | 2nd |
| .889 | 29th | RED ZONE | .852 | 62nd |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 19.8 | 20th | POINTS ALLOWED | 12.0 | 2nd |
| 112.8 | 13th | RUSH DEFENSE | 80.5 | 1st |
| 179.0 | 15th | PASS DEFENSE | 156.4 | 2nd |
| 114.5 | 24th | PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE | 94.2 | 1st |
| 291.8 | 8th | TOTAL DEFENSE | 236.9 | 1st |
| .322 | 18th | 3rd DOWNS | .288 | 7th |
| .788 | 30th | RED ZONE | .700 | 5th |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| 4.4 | 114th | PUNT RETURN | 9.0 | 44th |
| 24.2 | 18th | KICKOFF RETURN | 21.2 | 66th |
| 40.8 | 17th | NET PUNTING | 36.4 | 103rd |
| MISCELLANEOUS | ||||
| + 0.3 | 48th | TURNOVER MARGIN | + 0.2 | 57th |
| 7.4 | 110th | PENALTIES | 5.5 | 44th |
| 8 | EDGE | 10 | ||
TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS
Wisconsin will be the higher ranked team on Saturday. How many other times has an Urban Meyer Ohio State team faced a higher ranked Big Ten team?
Answer: Twice. No. 14 Ohio State defeated No. 8 Michigan State 49-37 in East Lansing and No. 6 Ohio State's epic 39-38 victory over No. 2 Penn State.
Counting Saturday's game against the Badgers, how many times has an Ohio State team coached by Meyer been the lower ranked team against any opponent?
Answer: Six. Michigan State (2014), Alabama (2014/15), Oregon (2014/15), Clemson (2016/17), Penn State (2017) and Wisconsin (2017).
How many times has an Ohio State team under Meyer not been ranked?
Answer: Zero.
ICYMI
The 1942 Season Through The Words Of the Past: 11/29/1942, Season Over
