I am hoping that this is going to be a pretty exciting game on Saturday. For as long as I can remember them having it, the Big 10 Championship game has always been played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. I have only been to the stadium once, but from what I can remember it is a beautiful facility.
There is a small part of me that is actually a little bummed about this game. Not so much because Ohio State is playing in it (even though being from Michigan, I really can't stand Ohio State). My issue is more the fact that Wisconsin is playing in it and not Minnesota.
Sure, Wisconsin definitely earned their way to this game and I have no intention of denying them that. The problem is, these two teams already faced off once this season. It was October 26th and the Buckeyes came away with a demanding 38 to 7 victory.
Minnesota is one of the Big Ten teams that Ohio State didn't play against during the regular season and given the season that they had (besides the losses to Iowa and Wisconsin), it would have been great to see those two teams face off.
Instead, we get a rematch of this game. I think there are two things that Wisconsin has going for them this weekend.
The first is momentum. When they last faced off against the Buckeyes, they had just suffered a surprising loss to Illinois the week before. Team morale had to be pretty low after having faced off and beaten both teams from Michigan earlier in the season. Taking their division last weekend by beating Minnesota should be a confidence boost that the teams needs going into tomorrow.
Second, when they last met up it was at the Ohio State stadium. This time they are meeting on neutral ground and I have a feeling there will be pretty equal numbers of fans from both sides. The absence of home field advantage for Ohio State might be just what Wisconsin needs.
Don't get me wrong, I have a feeling that Ohio State will definitely be the winner of this game. Vegas does too giving them 15 points for the odds. The Buckeyes aren't the number one team in the country by some fluke. At one point (and potentially still), they had two Heisman candidates on their team. Having one is pretty impressive for any team, let alone two.
I am hoping this game will be exciting and close. I want to see a shoot out Big Ten style. Two hard nosed defenses trying to stifle some explosive offense on both sides. Check back Monday when I cover the results of the game!