Ohio State vs. Wisconsin: How to Solve the Melvin Gordon Problem

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After watching film of Wisconsin in preparation of this weekend’s Big Ten Championship Game, Ohio State linebacker Curtis Grant was left with one question: “Are we playing the Green Bay Packers or are we playing Wisconsin?”

This isn’t a “Could Kentucky beat an NBA team?” scenario, but Grant’s confusion between his college opponent and its professional counterpart isn’t unfounded.

Watching the Badgers run the ball, it’s easy to mistake them for an NFL squad—between both their star running back and the players blocking for him.

With only conference championship weekend standing between now and the presentation of the Heisman Trophy, Bodog (h/t Odds Shark) lists just two players with odds to take home college football’s most prestigious individual award.

One is Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who’s favored to take home the trophy with odds of 1-10.

The other? Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon.

The Badgers back’s 5-1 Heisman odds are well-deserved, too, seeing as Gordon leads the nation with 2,260 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.

He also lays claim to the greatest single-game performance of any Heisman candidate, rushing for an NCAA record-breaking 408 yards and four touchdowns in Wisconsin’s Nov. 15 win over Nebraska. That’s the type of performance that the Buckeyes are dreading on Saturday, the type that keeps them up late at night longer than the unproven nature of first-time starting quarterback Cardale Jones…

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