A Wild Win at Home Against Wisconsin

Finally! The Buckeyes pulled together the offense and defense for a solid performance against a quality team. After facing former #17 Illinois two weeks ago and having a bye week, the Buckeyes were ready to play and take on another ranked opponent in former #12 Wisconsin.

At first it seemed like the same old story: a lethargic offense for the Buckeyes wouldn't be enough to overcome another great outing for the defense. With the score 7-3 at halftime in favor of the Badgers, the defense had still kept them in the game. But the offense turned it around in the second half.

The Buckeyes stormed out of the locker room with motivation and, now, momentum. You could feel the energy the Bucks were playing with, which was driven by the crushing defeat Wisconsin had handed the Buckeyes last year that ended their National Championship hopes and put Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. But now it was the Buckeyes' turn to play spoiler. Although most people had already written the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship hunt, if the Buckeyes won out the rest of their schedule and Penn State lost one more game other than a loss to the Buckeyes then they would make it out of the Leaders division and into Indianapolis for the championship game. But it starts with a win against Wisconsin.

Ohio State came out and took the lead, with the score at 17-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The beginning of the 3rd quarter began the most exciting quarter of Buckeye football this season. Ohio State got a quick 9 points with a Drew Basil field goal and a Braxton Miller rushing TD that was followed by an unsuccessful two point attempt. But with the Buckeyes up 26-14 with only 4:39 left, the Badgers came storming back. Wisconsin scored two quick touchdowns and a two point conversion to make the score 29-26 in favor of the Badgers. But you couldn't count the Buckeyes out. Braxton Miller cooly led the Buckeyes down the field in a time where most freshman quarterbacks would've been frantic. His leadership proved to be invaluable. Miller took the snap at the Wisconsin 40 with only 0:30 to go and a restless crowd clamoring for a score. He was flushed out of the pocket and forced to scramble to his right where he heaved up what looked to be a desparation pass to the end zone, but Devin Smith was wide open waiting for the game winning pass to fall into his arms. The Buckeyes staved off Wisconsin's attempts at a miracle and secured their biggest win of the season by far. This season-changing win showcased why Braxton Miller is clearly the QB to go with for the rest of the season and the rest of his tenure at Ohio State. Although he didn't have an outstanding statistical day passing (7/12), he made plays with his legs and used leadership to power the offense to victory. His 99 rushing yards and 2 rushing TD's were key to this huge win in Columbus.