With all the money on the line for the college playoff, someone from the Big Ten must have put the word out that Ohio State had to win the game. A Wisconsin win would have jeopardized millions of dollars from falling into Big Ten coffers. At the end of the game, Wisconsin was moving the ball effectively through the air. Yet on their next to last drive, they ran the ball on third and then fourth down. And on the last play, they again ran the ball, allowing the clock to run out.
There was simply too much on the line here to risk the Big Ten from being excluded from this NCAA cash cow for a third consecutive year.