1st-and-10: Big Ten Championship Edition

Senior writer Jake Kocorowski breaks down 10 things to watch for and know about before No. 8 Wisconsin* tangles with No. 1 Ohio State.*

*Please note BadgerBlitz.com will now use the College Football Playoff rankings

Wisconsin claimed its right to head to Indianapolis after a 38-17 stomping of Minnesota inside TCF Bank Stadium last weekend. The Badgers' defense contained the Gophers' offense, while on the other side of the line of scrimmage, Jack Coan and Co. made Antoine Winfield Jr., and his unit attempt to cover the entire field.

UW's reward now comes in the form of facing one of the nation's most complete -- if not, the most complete -- teams in the country.

When asked Monday what will be different with this weekend's Big Ten Championship game in comparison to the 38-7 blowout win by Ohio State over Wisconsin on Oct. 26, Chris Orr stated, "We’re a better team. They’re also a better team."

"Also, it’s a championship game," Orr added. "Everybody’s going to leave it all out there. We want to leave as champions. That’s the focus of this week. There is no other focus. There is no other opportunity. This is the only game."

On Tuesday evening, the College Football Playoff committee unveiled its penultimate rankings ahead of this week's championship games. Wisconsin now sits at No. 8, ahead of No. 10 Penn State. Both programs sit at 10-2 records in the regular season, but UW has three wins against programs in the CFP Top 25.

According to a transcript released on Tuesday evening with College Football Playoff Selection Committee chair Rob Mullens was asked about Wisconsin and why it was bumping up to the highest ranked two-loss program in the rankings.

"Their impressive win over Minnesota gave them three wins over top-25 teams," Mullens said. "Their loss to No. 1 Ohio State, then a close loss late at Illinois. We see them as a balanced team, top 10 nationally in relative offense and defense."

How much will the conference clash possibly help or hurt the Badgers when the final rankings are released on Sunday morning, and who ultimately will play in Pasadena?

For those looking for a great breakdown of bowl projections and language regarding the Rose Bowl/CFP selections, read this from WOZN's Zach Heilprin.