It turned out that the test would come from the weather and a downpour throughout the game kept the game close for two quarters and more, as the Wisconsin Badgers played the Buckeyes close before being blown away by a wave of offense in another lopsided win for Ohio State.
The 38-7 victory might have seen the possibility of a defensive player making his move for at least a chance for making a trip to the Heisman ceremony as Chase Young trampled the Wisconsin offense as he finished with five tackles for loss and four sacks.
J.K Dobbins rushed for two touchdowns, and Justin Fields rushed for one and threw for two others, both to Chris Olave to lead the offense for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State improved to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) and will have next week off before hosting 3-5 Maryland in two weeks.
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1) Chase Young is an unstoppable force and despite the bias towards defensive players that only play defense (The only defensive winner, Charles Woodson received votes for playing offense, averaging eight yards a catch and caught one touchdown.), might wind up bullying his way to the front of the line even with those obstacles.
A four sack performance with a forced fumble as well as running over offensive linemen on national television can catapult a player into contention.
2) Chase Young is the best player in this country whether he wins the Heisman award or not.
I'd imagine that he is just about a lock for the Outland and before 2016 the Lombardi awards for the best lineman in the nation.
I'd also think that he'll be the best player available in the 2020 Draft, but like Nick Bosa in the 2019 draft, some team will reach for a quarterback and leave the best player for someone else.
Half the battle of building a winning team at any level is taking advantage of the mistakes that other teams make and there will be someone there that will be happy to have Chase Young fall into their lap.
3) The hype before this game was about the running back matchup between J.K. Dobbins and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and who was the superior back.
Taylor was mentioned as a top Heisman contender entering the game, while Dobbins shared support with Justin Fields ( Fields, Dobbins, and now Chase Young could cost one of them the Heisman by dividing the Buckeye votes) for Ohio State's candidate.
Well, the debate might be over after this game as each player received twenty carries,
Dobbins rushed for 163 yards and two scores, while Taylor ran for 52 yards for an average of 2.4 yards.
Dobbins might have won the Doak Walker award yesterday in Columbus.
4) With those 163 yards, J.K. Dobbins hit two more milestones- Dobbins passed the thousand-yard mark for the season, which placed Dobbins with Archie Griffin as the only Buckeyes with three one thousand yard seasons and the only one to accomplish the feat as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
Dobbins also moved past Tim Spencer into the fourth slot on the all-time rushing list and is under 200 yards behind Eddie George for the third spot.
With the Buckeyes next two games against weak sisters Maryland and Rutgers, the question is this, barring injury, does Dobbins pass George in one game or two?
5) Justin Fields ran for a touchdown but took a shot crossing the goal line that saw him make a trip to the medical tent but returned to the game.
Fields reported some back pain, but about the only thing that I can criticize Ryan Day for this season is that he leaves Fields in way too long.
This game was 38-7 in the fourth quarter and Fields is still in a lopsided game with some discomfort.
Ohio State has no one close to Fields in talent or even style behind him and an injury could turn this season upside down.
I'd hate to see someone (and it only takes one) frustrated from being blown out and take a cheap shot on Fields that knocks him out of the lineup,
6) Ohio State played very cautiously in the rain in the first quarter and kept the ball on the ground.
Safe football isn't always fun to watch football, but the weather played to Wisconsin's strengths and I can see playing close to the vest football.
Wisconsin's best chance to win was run the ball, keep the Buckeyes offense off the field, and try to force turnovers and the rain could have helped the Badgers in those areas.
7) It was that caution that kept this game close, only one touchdown scored in the first half on a Justin Fields to Chris Olave strike and a 10-0 game at the half is certainly no slaughter.
And what might be forgotten in this win was that Wisconsin scored first in the second half on a short drive after a bad punt by Drue Christman to cut the lead to 10-7.
It looked like the test that Ohio State had not passed yet was about to be given.
If that was the test and there will be others, Ohio State passed with flying colors as the Buckeyes marched down the field, scored a touchdown to immediately swing momentum and that score would be the first of four touchdowns in a row in the second half.
8) I watched most of this game on mute or low volume for two reasons.
First of all, two hours in, I was watching the World Boxing Super Series from London on the live stream, but the main one, which I'm sure you can guess, was Gus Johnson on the call.
The reason that I mention this is that when you watch a game without sound, you notice things and what I noticed for much of the first half was the broadcast kept watching a Badger coach on the sideline and it was rarely head coach Paul Chryst, it was former Brown and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonard.
Leonard was on the broadcast often in the first half, not so often in the second half when Ohio State was moving up and down the field.
9) The Wisconsin score was set up by what was called a blocked punt, but to me the replay was inconclusive.
I thought the 13-yard punt by Drue Christman was missed by a charging Alex Smith, but Smith's rush and near-miss disrupted the mechanics of Christman enough that he caught very little of the football.
In any event, the Badgers had their best field position of the game at the Ohio State 30 yard line and would take only three plays to score.
10) I thought that the pass from Wisconsin's Jack Coan to A.J. Taylor, for the Badgers only touchdown, was about as good or as lucky as you could get as the pass was delivered exactly where it had to be to avoid Shaun Wade and Jeffrey Okudah (I think it was Okudah from my notes), both in good coverage.
What was fortunate for the Badgers was that the ball didn't go over Taylor, just a little bit longer and the pass would have been considered to be intended for another Badger receiver.
Had that been the case, the play may not have stood as he clearly grabbed a Buckeye defender before the ball arrived,
Still, no complaints on the play because the ball didn't carry far enough to get that call.
11) K.J. Hill didn't have the big game that Chris Olave did, with only one catch for eleven yards, but that catch moved Hill over 2,000 yards receiving for his OSU career.
Hill is the ninth Buckeye to reach that level.
12) I know the Buckeyes trolled the Badgers a bit with their playing of "Jump Around" and although I didn't think it was as bad as Illinois blaring it after their game-winning field goal on the last play of the game, but I still wouldn't have done it.
It was kind of funny, but I can understand why Badger fans would have been annoyed.
I like that the fans at Camp Randall do that, and I think it's a pretty cool tradition,.
Even though the Buckeyes won't play Wisconsin again until 2022 (unless in the Big Ten title game) and won't visit Camp Randall until 2023, that's the type of thing that won't be forgotten- ask Baker Mayfield.
13) Now the word will be that Penn State will be the test and a suddenly resurgent Michigan after blowing away Notre Dame will be crowing a bit as well.
We'll see about that and I don't take either team lightly at all.
Maryland is the next team on the schedule, and I don't think Ohio State has forgotten about last year's game where Maryland took the Buckeyes to overtime and almost won, if not for a stop on a two-point conversion.
Plus that game is a recruiting asset for recruits in the Washington area, where they plucked Chase Young from, so Ryan Day will have the team ready.
Rutgers should be a squash match, but you still have to play the game and that will bring forward Penn State and Michigan.
Win both those games and this truly may be a special squad.
Back later with the weekend in boxing.
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