Well here we are folks, the final Big Ten game of the year. Penn State’s red hot offense, led by my pick for offensive player of the year Trace McSorley, will do battle with one of the absolute best defenses in the nation from Madison, Wisconsin.
How Did Wisconsin Get Here?
The Badgers had a hilariously impossible schedule coming into this season. They had LSU in the non conference and @MSU, @ Michigan, Ohio State in their first three Big Ten games. After OSU, at Iowa and Nebraska. They were supposed to be eliminated from contention before Halloween and then rely on their final month to make a bowl game.
Instead Wisconsin’s defense was lights out from the get go. They knocked off LSU and entered Big Ten play at 4-0. In East Lansing they punished the Spartans 30-6. While Michigan State didn’t pan out to be as good as we thought, it was still a big confidence boost and a league road win. They lost to both Michigan and Ohio State but it was by a combined 14 points.
After that stretch, perfection. The last three weeks of the season though the offense finally came around with 31, 48, and 48 point performances. Will it keep up against Penn State? It better. Can the defense handle this new beast? It has to.
How Did Penn State Get Here?
The Lions started the year 2-2. Their defense was roasted by Pitt and the team completely melted down against Michigan in a 49-10 loss. It was arguably UM’s best performance of the season and not only was Penn State lousy but they also faced another adversary: health.
The next week they survived an overtime tangle with Minnesota at home but then dominated Maryland. That set up a big game against Ohio State. Going into it, most felt that this was PSU’s opportunity to get a big win, instead it turned out to be the tiebreaking victory to get PSU here.
After stunning Ohio State, Penn State dropped Purdue before putting up their gem. They humiliated Iowa 41-14. But the Hawkeyes would prove to be a friendly foe as the very next week Iowa upset Michigan, giving Penn State an opportunity to make the title game. Remember, if all three between UM, OSU, and PSU finished 7-1 the Nittany Lions didn’t have favorable tiebreakers.
Anyway, Penn State won out and Ohio State gave the division to the folks from State College by knocking off the Wolverines in overtime. Will Penn State’s vastly improved defense keep it going? It better. Can this McSorley kid slice and dice yet another team? He has to.
Who Will Win…and Why?
Well on the podcast, I picked Penn State. Then in my pick ’em league I decided to go with Wisconsin because I figured most people picked the Lions and I needed points. That wasn’t helpful, clearly…but the pod is my official pick.
I’m taking them because as much as defense wins championships, you do need to score points in football. In Wisconsin’s final three games of improved offense those point totals came against Purdue, Illinois, and Minnesota. The last good team Wisconsin was…Northwestern? They made a bowl and held the Badgers to 21 points. Was it Nebraska? They were the only other team with a shot to win the West in the final weekend and they held UW to 23 points in an overtime game. Was it Iowa? They won eight games and held Bucky to 17 points. Long story short, Wisconsin could play an incredible defensive game and hold this awesome offensive team to just 24 points and still not be able to put up enough for victory.
How to Watch
The Big Ten title game airs Saturday (12/3/16) at 7pm (Central) on Fox.
Big Ten and Counting 