Ohio State at Wisconsin Preview

Ranked first in the country after defeating Indiana, the Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Madison Wisconsin to play the Badgers Saturday night under the lights. Wisconsin enters the game ranked 16th nationally with a 5-1 record, with one loss to Michigan State on the road. The game starts at 7pm Eastern Standard.

By Steve Patterson

Last weekend the Badgers showed off their very productive running game against Minnesota, rushing for 250 yards in a lopsided 41-23 victory. Freshman James White and John Clay shared the tailback duties with each reaching more than 110 yards. White had 2 touchdowns on the day while Clay ran for 3. The Badgers weren’t slouches in the passing game though as starting quarterback Scott Tolzien passed for 223 yards and one touchdown.

For the season, Clay has 692 yards and 9 touchdowns. White has near half the carries with 485 yards and 8 touchdowns. A wide receiver that could be productive on Saturday is Lance Kendricks. He has caught 25 passes for 391 yards and 3 touchdowns through six games. Head Coach Bret Bielema is 43-15 through 5 and half seasons.

Ohio State had no trouble with Indiana last week even with Terrelle Pryor limited due to a quad strain. The Buckeyes are third in the country in turnover margin and rarely turn the ball over while forcing turnovers on defense. The Hoosiers threw three interceptions in their match last Saturday while Ohio State only threw one late in the game.

The Buckeyes have turned to the passing game often this year with Dane Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey providing reliable targets. Brandon Saine has taken on a new role with the team running more routes out of the backfield instead of taking hand-offs and presents a great third option for Pryor. Pryor is also a prolific runner with Daniel Herron taking over the load as the main tailback when they do turn to their running attack.

Wisconsin has the second best running game in the Big Ten this season, averaging 241 yards a game. Ohio State has the second best rushing defense in the Big Ten, only allowing 79 yards per game. This will be the match-up to watch on Saturday.