Buckeyes – Badgers: a True B1G Battle
10/26/2019 7:32:14 AM | Football
The two winningest programs in the Big Ten Conference during the past decade lace them up again to meet in The Shoe Saturday. Although Ohio State has had the upperhand on Wisconsin winning the five meetings, five of those last six tussles have been decided by a touchdown or less.
Two of those matchups have taken place in Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game, while another pair have extended to overtime. And who can forget the thrilling Hail Mary Ohio State victory in 2011.
Here’s a quick look back the recent scrums between these two Top 15 squads set to do battle once again at high noon on FOX.
2017 Big Ten Championship
The Buckeyes gained 449 yards on the nation’s top defense which came into the game allowing just 236 yard per contest. OSU surpassed that total early in the second quarter.
The offensive performance was a compliment to Buckeye defense that stepped-up in key situations. The Badgers averaged 243 yards on the ground through the first 12 games and was slowed to just 60 on Saturday.
Senior quarterback JT Barrett was 12-of-26 for 211 yards and two touchdowns and also gained 60 yards on the ground, many coming on key third and fourth down conversions. Barrett handed the ball to freshman running back JK Dobbins 17 times and all he did was run for 174 yards en route to being named the Big Ten Championship Game Most Valuable Player.
2016 Regular Season – Camp Randall Stadium
Ohio State 30 | Wisconsin 23 – OT
J.T. Barrett set a school record and led Ohio State to its toughest win of the season.
The do-it-all quarterback threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to leaping receiver Noah Brown in overtime, and the second-ranked Buckeyes finished off No. 8 Wisconsin with a sack on fourth-and-goal from the 4 for a 30-23 win on Saturday night.
Barrett also ran for two touchdowns for the Buckeyes in tense contest between league heavyweights.
2014 Big Ten Championship
Ohio State’s No. 3 quarterback looked every bit as good as the other two.
Cardale Jones even did something his two all-conference predecessors could not. He led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title.
Jones threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP in his first career start, leading No. 6 Ohio State to a 59-0 rout of No. 11 Wisconsin.
Ezekiel Elliott carried 12 times for 150 yards and two scores in the first half and finished with 20 carries for a career high 220 yards. Devin Smith caught four passes for 137 yards and three scores.
2013 Regular Season – Ohio Stadium
Braxton Miller matched a career-high with four touchdown passes in his first game in three weeks and No. 4 Ohio State ran the nation’s longest winning streak to 17 games with a 31-24 victory over No. 23 Wisconsin on Saturday night.
The Buckeyes struggled to stop the Badgers and got some help from Wisconsin in the second quarter when two penalties on the same series wiped out a third-down conversion (holding) and a muffed punt by Ohio State (illegal formation).
Bradley Roby’s interception of an errant pass by UW QB Joel Stave in the third quarter set up the Buckeyes in Wisconsin territory and led to Miller’s 1-yard TD pass to Corey Brown with 2:18 left in the third quarter to make it 31-14.
2012 Regular Season – Camp Randall Stadium
The Buckeyes won the Leaders Division crown outright Saturday, beating Wisconsin 21-14 on Carlos Hyde’s 2-yard scoring run in overtime. Buckeyes safety Christian Bryant batted down Curt Phillips’ pass on fourth down to preserve the win.
Wisconsin’s defense was downright nasty, limiting the high-powered Buckeyes to a mere 236 yards of offense, more than 200 yards below their average. The Buckeyes crossed the midfield only once after halftime, and the Badgers largely kept the dynamic Miller in check. But Miller made plays when he needed to, and Hyde continued to impress and overtime was all Buckeyes. Hyde ripped off a run of 11 yards on the first play and, two plays later, strolled virtually untouched into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
2011 Regular Season – Ohio Stadium
Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller found classmate Devin Smith wide open for a game-winning 40-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left to give Ohio State a thrilling 33-29 Homecoming upset of No. 11/12 Wisconsin Saturday night in front of 105,511 at Ohio Stadium.
It was an exciting finish to a game that featured 31 fourth quarter points and an extraordinary rally by the Badgers (7-2, 2-2 Big Ten) in the final minutes. With the win, the Buckeyes (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) vaulted themselves back into the race in the Big Ten Leaders Division.
Miller finished the game with 188 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns — 89 yards through the air and 99 on the ground – as three different Buckeyes found the endzone. The Buckeye defense rose to the occasion as well, holding Wisconsin to 342 total yards, 169 below its season average.
