No. 3 Wisconsin won’t dwell on its Big Ten title game past
MADISON, WIS. » A team that prides itself on not looking ahead, No. 3 Wisconsin must now avoid dwelling on its recent past at the Big Ten championship game.
The losses against Penn State last year and Ohio State in 2014 sting for different reasons.
The stakes are even higher going into this season’s title game, in which the Badgers again face the eighth-ranked Buckeyes on Saturday night in Indianapolis. Win and undefeated Wisconsin (120, No. 5 CFP) stands a pretty good shot at securing a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“I think the guys in that (locker) room, they understand that if we take care of this game, everything takes care of itself,” tight end Troy Fumagalli said after practice Monday.
All season long, the blue-collar Badgers have shrugged off the whispers about the turnover-prone offense and the questions about their strength of schedule. The team follows the lead of evenkeeled coach Paul Chryst .
The moment to talk about the playoffs has finally arrived. Wisconsin had perhaps its most complete game in Big Ten play when beating Minnesota 31-0 last week.
The Badgers have won 13 straight games, counting the Cotton Bowl in January over Western Michigan. The last loss came at the 2016 conference championship, when Wisconsin blew a 14-point halftime lead and fell 38-31 to Penn State.
The 2014 trip to the title game was even more painful, a 59-0 loss to Ohio State. Fumagalli, a senior, is one of the few players left on the team that in that game.
“I try to forget about it,” he played said.
Meyer: Barrett probable for Big Ten Championship Game
COLUMBUS, OHIO » Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said quarterback J.T. Barrett is “probable” to play in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday.
Meyer on Monday said Barrett, who left the game with a knee injury in the third quarter during a win over Michigan on Saturday, is “really doing a nice job with all the rehab.”
The decision whether to start Barrett or backup Dwayne Haskins will be made later in the week. Barrett did not practice Sunday.
Haskins, a redshirt freshman, entered the game with the Buckeyes trailing 2014 and helped lead a comeback victory.