Reviewing the tape-Badgered in Madison

Ohio State didn't look like the number one team in the country in their visit to Madison,Wisconsin for their meeting against the Badgers and that was fitting because at the end of the evening they would no longer be the top team as the Badgers stripped all of that away in a 31-18 win for Wisconsin.
The win virtually ended any OSU national title hopes and threw the Big Ten in flux at the top as well.
Ohio State returns to action on Saturday against Purdue.

Buckeye Leaves

1) The poor Buckeye special teams had been a sore spot all season and the kickoff return for a Wisconsin touchdown to begin the game started set the trend for the entire game.Men not in their zones and being pushed around physically-that one play is an synopsis of the game...

2) If you really want to simplify things though,it can come down to one thing-Wisconsin's offensive line pushing the OSU defensive line off the ball.
Wisconsin has always been a run first team with a road grader type offensive line that you had to stand up to in order to defeat.Ohio State couldn't do it Saturday night at all as the Badger line physically beat down the Buckeyes.

3) I liked the fact that the Buckeyes didn't roll over and made the Badgers work for the win,but I never truly had the feeling that OSU was going to pull the victory out of the hat.Even when they were able to get as close as three points,I still had the feeling that Wisconsin was controlling the tempo with their ground game and it was a matter of time before they got rolling under full steam again.

4) Terrelle Pryor is certainly a running quarterback,but he sure isn't an option quarterback and there is a distinction there.
Pryor's pitches sure don't bring back memories of Thomas Lott or Jamelle Holieway,so putting him in that situation on your teams first possession following a kick return TD in that nuthouse was a poor play call by Jim Tressel and I thought was a contributor to keeping the Wisconsin fans going.

5) Normally,not a Boom Herron booster either,but he ran the ball strong between the tackles and kept the Buckeyes in the game by taking advantage of what Wisconsin gave him.I still would have rather seen a game breaker though that has the chance of taking the ball for six points quickly...

6) Dane Sanzenbacher made some great catches that made Terrelle Pryor look better than he was.
Sanzenbacher might not have NFL speed,but he sure has NFL hands....

7) Ross Homan's injury gave Andrew Sweat a featured role and Sweat looked excellent after Homan left the game.Sweat's interception was good,but his tackle of James White in the third quarter on third and short kept the Badgers off the field and allowed OSU to get back into the game.

8) Sweat's pick didn't lead to any points as Devin Barclay missed a field goal attempt from 45 yards away.On the replay,the kick sure looked good to me.

9) Wisconsin fans might not be the best in the Big Ten,but there can be no doubt that Camp Randall Stadium is the wildest place in the conference to play.From the "Jump Around" and the high decibel fans,Wisconsin sure creates an atmosphere that the sometimes lethargic Horseshoe could learn from.

10) Want to know what Wisconsin football reminds me of most though?
How about Ohio State football in the Woody Hayes era?Run first,pound the ball at you and see if you can stop us football.
Not sure what Woody thought of UW as a whole,but I get the feeling that he sure would have approved of their philosophy....

Photo Credits
Jump Around-Unknown

Pryor:Chris Russell-Columbus Dispatch