Game Preview: Ohio State’s Toughness To Be Tested Against Wisconsin

The Buckeyes have won eight straight against the Badgers, including three victories in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Ohio State opens Big Ten play on Saturday with a primetime matchup against Wisconsin, which pairs one of the nation’s best defenses with an offense that wants to run the ball and keep the Buckeyes' top-ranked attack off the field.

“Anytime you’re in conference play, it ramps up a little bit. Everything means a little bit more,” head coach Ryan Day said this week. “Wisconsin’s a very good team, epitomizes everything the Big Ten’s all about. They’re always well-coached, they’re always sound and they have good talent, so this is going to be a big challenge.”

That’s not to say Ohio State hasn’t been challenged so far this season, as the opener pitted the Buckeyes against a top-five opponent. But the Badgers’ defense is much better than Notre Dame’s – or Arkansas State and Toledo, for that matter – and the offense will have to earn every yard as a result.

On the flip side, Wisconsin arguably has the best running back in the conference outside of Columbus in sophomore Braelon Allen. He’s the type of player that gave Ohio State trouble last season, which is why the Buckeyes spent all offseason focused on improving their toughness on defense.

“You're going to get this when you get into conference play, and we knew that," Day said. "That's why we've talked about this going into the game. We know their style of play, and it’s not unique to Wisconsin, so we have to be able to play in these styles of games.

“Our guys have been practicing with a little bit more of an edge and a little more physicality ... We know that this is what we have to do if we’re going to make a run at the Big Ten championship. We have to beat Wisconsin.”

General Info

Date: Sept. 24, 2022
Where: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Expected Weather: 66 degrees, partly sunny
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Ohio State (-19)
O/U Total: 57
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!

How to Watch/Listen

Television: ABC
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline)

Local Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
Announcers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter), Skip Mosic (pregame/halftime/postgame host and producer)

Series History

Ohio State leads Wisconsin, 61-18-5
* OSU record at home: 29-5-3

LAST TIME THEY MET
2019: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21 (Big Ten Championship Game)

Coaching Matchup

* Ryan Day
* At Ohio State: 4th Season, Record: 37-4
* Overall: Same

* Paul Chryst 
* At Wisconsin: 8th Season, Record: 67-24
* Overall: 86-43

Ohio State Capsule

While Ohio State’s offense got all of the attention last Saturday night – and rightfully so with 763 total yards – defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was not pleased by the Buckeyes’ performance on the other side of the ball in the 77-21 win over Toledo.

“I don’t think we did a great job, and that starts with me,” Knowles said. “I think it was not at the level that we want our defense to be. Silver Bullet caliber, it wasn’t there. (It’s) always great that you win and you can learn from it, but I think that starts with me. I just feel like I didn’t do a good enough job preparing them for it.”

The Rockets put up 307 yards of total offense against the Buckeyes, including a 50-yard touchdown pass, 40-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard touchdown run by quarterback Dequan Finn, whose dual-threat abilities gave the defense some issues.

“He was really talented,” Knowles said. “I learned a lot personally, too, because – when you go against an option team – how do you simulate that in practice? It’s difficult. How do you simulate a scrambling quarterback? Near impossible, it really is, because you’re not tackling in practice to get that sense of speed.

“I thought we had some schemes and some ideas but we didn’t execute them very well, and when you don’t execute, that’s not the players’ fault. That’s my fault. You’ve got to continue to be creative to find ways to do it, so I learned a learned a lot from the experience and we’ll get better.”

Wisconsin Capsule

Of course, Wisconsin presents a different challenge this week, as the Badgers would like to keep the ball on the ground in Allen, whose 6-foot-2 and 238-pound frame makes him hard to bring down with just one person.

“He’s different,” Knowles said. “Big, strong back. (I’ve) certainly gone up against guys like him before, but in the big back category, he’s as good as any that I have seen. We have to make sure we have great form when we tackle him and rally to the football. It’s going to be a team effort because he is very talent.”

Allen has rushed for 332 yards and five touchdowns on 50 carries the season, and the Buckeyes’ ability to stop him will show how far they’ve come since last year’s losses to Oregon and Michigan, when they gave up 269 and 297 yards on the ground, respectively.

“It’s been good,” Knowles said of the run defense. “It can get a lot better. I think that last week could’ve been better. I’m still looking for us to dominate in all aspects at the point of attack. We’re not there yet.”

Wisconsin redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz is someone who Ohio State is plenty familiar with, meanwhile, as he was considered the Buckeyes’ top target at the position in the 2019 recruiting class.

In his two-plus years as a starter, he’s had his fair share of highs – including going 20-of-21 for 248 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Illinois in his first career start in 2020 – and lows – as he threw 11 interceptions compared to 10 touchdowns last season.

Mertz appears to have improved this offseason, as he’s completed 71.0 percent of his passes for 697 yards and six touchdowns with only two interceptions in three games this fall. Which version shows up on Saturday could go a long way in determining the result, though.

“He’s very talented throwing the football,” Day said. “You can see it when the ball comes out of his hands, and now he has some years of experience under his belt … Between that and the offensive line, they have a good group over there. This will be our biggest challenge we’ve had on defense.”

Major Storylines

• This marks the 110th season of Big Ten (or Western Conference) play for Ohio State, while Wisconsin was one of the conference’s founding members in 1896. Still the Buckeyes are the conference’s all-time leader in wins with 534.
• The Buckeyes (10) and Badgers (5) have combined for 15 divisional titles since the Big Ten moved to a divisional format in 2011.
• Ohio State has won eight straight games against Wisconsin, including a pair of victories during the 2019 season. The Buckeyes defeated the Badgers at home in October before knocking them off in the Big Ten Championship Game.
• Wisconsin hasn’t won a game at Ohio Stadium since 2004. The 24-13 win marked its third straight victory in Columbus and ended Ohio State’s 18-game home winning streak.
• The Badgers have won two of the last three Big Ten openers against the Buckeyes, including a 20-16 win at Camp Randall Stadium in 1992 and a 42-17 win at Ohio Stadium in 1999.
• Ohio State is 80-24-4 all-times in conference openers, including wins in 18 of its last 20. The Buckeyes last lost a Big Ten opener in 2011, falling 10-7 to Michigan State at home.
• Emeka Egbuka (116 yards), Jayden Ballard (113) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (102) became the second trio of wide receivers in school history to top the 100 yard mark in the same game (Oregon, 2021).
• Saturday marks the annual American Football Coaches Association’s Coach to CureMD game, so coaches on both teams will be wearing patches to support research and raise donations for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
• Ohio State will be wearing all-black uniforms for the fourth time in program history. The Buckeyes are 3-0 in its black alternate uniforms, with wins over Penn State in 2015, Nebraska in 2018 and Michigan State in 2019.
• The Buckeyes are 25-7 all-time in games wearing alternate or throwback uniforms. That includes 2-0 against Wisconsin (2011 and 2013).

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