The 2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover was played on December 7, 2019 at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. The ninth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, it determined the 2019 champion of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The game was between the No. 1

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

out of the East division, and the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers out of the West division. Ohio State won the game and the conference title by a score of 34–21.

History

The 2020 Championship Game will be the tenth in the Big Ten's 125-year history and the seventh to feature the conference's East and West alignment. East division champion

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

won the 2018 game over West division champion Northwestern by a score of 45–24. It was Ohio State's third consecutive and fourth overall victory in the Championship Game.

Teams

Ohio State and Wisconsin faced each other in the Big Ten Championship Game for the third time. Ohio State won each of the last two championship games between the two schools, in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. The Buckeyes and Badgers also met during the 2019 regular season, where Ohio State won by a score of 38–7 in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State

secured their place in the Championship Game by winning the East Division with an undefeated 12–0 (9–0 Big Ten) regular season record. This was Ohio State's fifth appearance in the Championship Game, and third consecutive. They were the two-time reigning conference champions. The Buckeyes were ranked first in the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...

rankings heading into the game.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

finished the regular season at 10–2 (7–2 Big Ten), tied atop the West Division with

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The Badgers defeated their rivals, the Golden Gophers, in the final game of the regular season to earn their way to the Championship Game on the head-to-head tiebreaker. This is Wisconsin's sixth appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Game summary

Statistics

Wisconsin received the opening kickoff and completed an 83-yard drive, ending with a 44-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor to take the early lead. Ohio State's opening drive resulted in a turnover on downs at the Wisconsin 34 yard line. Early in the second quarter, Wisconsin scored again via a 14-yard run by quarterback Jack Coan. The Buckeyes got on the board with 42 seconds remaining in the half via a two-yard run by

J. K. Dobbins J'Kaylin Dobbins (born December 17, 1998) is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the 2 ...

. Wisconsin was able to rattle off another touchdown drive in the final seconds thanks to a 45-yard run by Jonathan Taylor and a 24-yard pass from Coan to Quintez Cephus, and scored with a one-yard run by Coan to take a 21–7 lead into half-time. Ohio State received the ball first in the second half and scored via a 16-yard pass from

Justin Fields Justin Skyler Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Georgia, he played college football at Ohio State, where he twice won Graham–Ge ...

Jeremy Ruckert Jeremy Ruckert (born August 11, 2000) is an American football tight end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted 101st overall in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. ...

. After a muffed punt snap by Wisconsin on their own 16 yard line, Ohio State converted a 27-yard field goal to cut Wisconsin's lead to 21–17. Wisconsin kicker Zach Hintze missed a 48-yard field goal attempt on the following drive. Ohio State then took the lead late in the third quarter with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Fields to

K. J. Hill Reanard O’Keith "K. J." Hill Jr. (born September 15, 1997) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played high school football at North Little Rock High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He played college football a ...

. Ohio State scored once again early in the fourth quarter with another connection between Fields and Hill, this time from 13 yards out. The Buckeye defense continued to hold the Badger offense from moving the ball, and on the next possession Ohio State kicked a 24-yard field goal that made the score 34–21 with 4:39 remaining, which held until the end of the game. With the win, Ohio State won their third consecutive Big Ten championship game, and 38th overall Big Ten title. The Buckeyes became the first team to ever win ten conference games in a single season, the Conference Championship Game being the tenth win. Quarterback

passed for 299 yards and three touchdowns, and was named game MVP.

Aftermath

Ohio State, who had been ranked first in the

rankings heading into the game, dropped to number two behind

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

in the final rankings. LSU beat then-No. 4 Georgia 37–10 in the

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

on the same day. As a result, Ohio State received a bid to the national semifinal against third-seeded Clemson to be played at the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

. Wisconsin stayed at number eight in the CFP rankings and received a bid to the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes lost to Clemson, 29–23; and the Badgers lost to Oregon, 28–27.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 Big Ten Football Championship Game Championship Big Ten Football Championship Game Ohio State Buckeyes football games Wisconsin Badgers football games December 2019 sports events in the United States Big Ten Football Champ 2010s in Indianapolis