Ohio State’s season rolls on Saturday with a primetime matchup at Wisconsin, the first time the Buckeyes have visited Camp Randall Stadium since 2016.
While some of the shine has come off of this one with some surprising losses already for Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, not to mention an injury to starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai, but it still has the makings of a potentially exciting matchup for the Buckeyes.
Here are Buckeye Sports Bulletin’s staff predictions for Ohio State’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff on NBC against Wisconsin.
Braden Moles: No Sweat For Ohio State
This will be Luke Fickell’s second crack at Ohio State, the first coming as head coach in Cincinnati in 2019, but I’m not expecting this one will go that much better for the former Buckeye.
Wisconsin has some strong individual pieces, including running back Braelon Allen and several impressive players on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s still too early in Fickell’s tenure to put a team on the field that can legitimately compete with the Buckeyes. Plus, this feels like the beginning of the last stretch of the regular season for Ohio State, so I think the team will want to make a statement in this one to help continue momentum from the win over Penn State.
I’m not inclined to pick the Buckeyes to pull off a high-scoring total given some of the team’s offensive struggles, but I still think the offense will get the job done. And defensively, it will be another dominant performance against an overmatched offense on the other side. Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 10
Patrick Engels: Buckeyes Keep It Rolling Against Fickell’s Badgers
This will be yet another tough road test for Ohio State, as Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium will be raucous for this primetime matchup. Luckily for the Buckeyes, they enter Madison, Wisc. as battle tasted as any team in all of college football. Ohio State already has two key top-10 wins on their resume — with one being in an electric environment at Notre Dame — so Ryan Day and his staff will more than likely have his team ready for this one.
There’s no denying that this game has some extra kick to it with former Buckeye Luke Fickell lining up against his alma mater for the first time as coach, so the Badgers should be giving their best effort on Saturday night. Wisconsin did lose Tanner Mordecai for the season after he broke his hand earlier this month, but their offense still has some explosive weapons, none more than star running back Braelon Allen. The Buckeyes have historically struggled to defend Badgers tailbacks of the past, most recently Jonathan Taylor in the 2019 Big Ten Championship game, but this Ohio State defense is turning into something special, so they should be able to limit him and the rather one-dimensional Badgers offense.
I think the cold conditions are also something to watch for this game, with the temperature at kickoff currently set for 38 degrees. McCord and the Buckeyes’ offense have obviously not faced conditions like this this season, so it will be interesting to see how they react to that. Having said that, I do expect the unit to bounce back with a pretty strong performance. Marvin Harrison Jr. is still unstoppable, and it — may — be looking like they are getting TreVeyon Henderson back. This should help with their balance, which could make for an efficient night for McCord and the entire unit.
I see the Buckeye pulling away from this one early and cursing to another convincing road victory. Ohio State: 38, Wisconsin: 13
Greg Wilson: Buckeyes Make A Statement In Madison
If last week against Penn State was any indication, this Buckeye defense is absolutely in the conversation for the very best in the country. Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions had not been struggling to score in any way, and Jim Knowles and his defense held them to just 12 points, six of them coming with only 29 seconds left on the clock.
I don’t see any reason this Wisconsin game will be any different for the Buckeyes, even on the road in a tough Camp Randall Stadium environment. Ryan Day has prepared his team well for road games so far this year, and they only seem to be getting better as the season progresses.
I expect the Badgers offense that is missing starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai will struggle to crack 10 points, even with Brealon Allen in the backfield. Ohio State has proven they can keep talented running backs in check, and while Braedyn Locke played fine against Illinois, the redshirt freshman hasn’t had to deal with an experienced defense like the Buckeyes.
The Ohio State offense is averaging 33.7 points per game, and with TreVeyon Henderson at full-go and Marvin Harrison Jr. on a streak like he is now, it will have no issues scoring. Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 7
