The #3 Wisconsin Badgers represented the West Division of the Big Ten for the second consecutive year and came into the game with a perfect 12-win season, including signature victories over Iowa and Michigan. Wisconsin was the only remaining undefeated FBS team in the nation, after Alabama lost to Auburn the previous week. Many analysts tabbed the Badgers as a lock to the College Football Playoff, even if they were to lose a close game in the Big Ten Championship match. It was Wisconsin's fifth appearance in the title game with other appearances coming in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016. Wisconsin is 2-3 in the game with their last wins coming in 2011 and 2012. They are 0-2 against the Buckeyes.
The #8 Ohio State Buckeyes represented the East Division of the Big Ten and came into the game with an overall record of 10-2 and a conference record of 8-1. Their two losses came from #2 Oklahoma and Iowa, and the team had strong victories over Penn State and Michigan State. It was the Buckeyes' third appearance in the title game with the others coming in 2013 and 2014. Ohio State is 2-1 in the game including a 2-0 against Wisconsin.
Wisconsin was upset by the Buckeyes, losing by 6 points. Surprisingly, neither the Badgers nor the Buckeyes would get a playoff spot, despite the former having a 12–1 record and the latter having a conference championship. Instead the fourth playoff spot ended up going to Alabama. Such a move shocked several pundits, who believed Wisconsin could survive a close loss and still make the playoff at a lower seed. Wisconsin went undefeated in the regular season, while Clemson and Oklahoma had a sole loss to Syracuse and Iowa State, respectively. Some analysts argued that Ohio State was left out because Penn State, who was a 2-loss conference champion the previous year, was also let out. A similar situation happened in 2015, where Iowa was 12–0 going into the 2015 Big Ten Football Championship Game, before falling to Michigan State and getting knocked out of the playoff. Many fans have argued that the playoff committee has bias against the Big Ten, since the No. 5 seed in 2015, 2016, and 2017 was a Big Ten team. The Big Ten would not send a representative to the playoffs until 2019, when Ohio State was invited. In the CFP era, no conference championship loser has made the College Football Playoff. It has become common knowledge that a loss in the Conference Championship Game all but eliminates a team from the top-4 in the final CFP rankings.
