COLUMBUS, Ohio – Imagine scoring 72 points on the ‘85 Bears. Or out-showtiming Magic Johnson’s Lakers. Or perhaps envision mauling the Broad Street Bullies in a fistfight and leaving them a bloody mess.

That’s the best context to put Ohio State defensive end Chase Young’s dominant performance in No. 3 Ohio State’s 38-7 waxing of No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. Not only did Young finish the game with four sacks, two forced fumbles that resulted in turnovers and five tackles for loss. He inflicted this caliber of damage on a Wisconsin program that’s very existence and engineering is built to resist such performances, as the Badgers have a proud tradition of outsized offensive lines.

And that’s precisely what makes Young swallowing whole the Wisconsin offense so impressive on Saturday, in what I’ll remember as the single most dominant defensive performance I’ve witnessed in 16 seasons covering national college football. His mugging of Wisconsin took the program’s singular identity and bull-rushed it into oblivion. “He’s the most dominant player in college football,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “He completely changes the game.”

The slate sky, biblical rain and preponderance of scarlet ponchos set the backdrop for a dreary day. Gloom licked the top rows of Ohio Stadium, ensconcing the noon kickoff with its autumn misery and making midday feel more like late evening.

Streaking across the dank afternoon, from every fathomable angle, came Young’s bouncing blond dreadlocks. He spent the day for Ohio State lining up at right end, flipping over to left end and occasionally roving like a middle linebacker before picking his favored lane to the quarterback. Young’s transcendent defensive performance flipped football convention, as he made tracking him pre-snap on defense as exciting as Justin Fields running in the open field.

Ohio State's Chase Young takes down Wisconsin QB Jack Coan for one of his four sacks on Saturday. (Getty) More

It quickly became evident who the best player on this field, or any field, was on Saturday afternoon. Young, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound defensive end, hit Badger quarterback Jack Coan so hard in the fourth quarter that the ball tumbled about 25 yards toward the sideline.

As the empirical evidence mounted with every blown-up double team, it became obvious to the college football world what the NFL has long recognized – Chase Young is the best player in all of college football. And that’s why the second half of this season will test one of the most vexing conventions that’s hung over the most prestigious individual award in American sports. Why have defensive players been virtually excluded from consideration for the Heisman Trophy?

Young put on a clinic in dominance on Saturday, dancing in the head of the Wisconsin play-callers and likely haunting their dreams when they land back in Madison on Saturday night. He delivered persistent and relentless production – six tackles to go along with countless headaches.

Wisconsin tried to double team Young. They tried to chip him with tailbacks and tight ends. They tried to run away from him. Twice, foolishly, they left him unblocked and tried to dump a screen pass in the space he vacated. (Note to future opponents, not a good idea.) And still, he managed to conjure up plays, moments and images of some of this generation’s most dominant college defenders – Ndamukong Suh, Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett.

The most exciting part of seeing Young move around and prance over the defensive line is that OSU defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said the Buckeyes will likely do more of it. After Ohio State played Michigan State on Oct. 5, teams began attempt to chip and double-team Young more aggressively. That’s prompted the Buckeyes to get more creative to counter what offenses are doing.

“There should be more and more [attention on him],” Hafley told Yahoo Sports. “We’re going to have to do [different things] with Chase. If we don’t then we’re not doing our job.”

Story continues