Ohio State sits at 3-0 on the season following a 77-21 domination of visiting Toledo, and now the Buckeyes will look to move to 4-0 on the year against Wisconsin on Saturday.
The primetime kick against the Badgers will open the Big Ten schedule for Ohio State, who is looking to win the conference crown after Michigan won the Big Ten last season.
Check back every Monday at BuckeyeSports.com for a brief preview of the Buckeyes’ upcoming opponent, with stories and features throughout the week.
OPPONENT: Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers are 2-1 this season with wins over FCS-level Illinois State and independent New Mexico State, statistically one of the worst teams in the FBS. The loss was to unranked Washington State, who pummeled the Badgers 39-26 on Sept. 10.
“A game like this, everyone owns it, starting with myself and each and every person in
that locker room,” said Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, who is in his eighth season leading the Badgers.
Wisconsin has the pieces to turn things around this season, though, with an offense averaging 39.2 points and 478.8 yards per game and a defense allowing just 8.0 points and 246 total yards per contest, and Ohio State will provide a solid test for the Badgers to see what might be possible this season.
The Wisconsin Badgers are located in Madison, Wisc., and has an enrollment of 32,648 students. When playing at home, the Badgers take the field at Camp Randall Stadium with a capacity of 80,321 people.
GAME INFO: Ohio Stadium, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
This will be the third primetime matchup for Ohio State this season. Notre Dame was a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, and this past weekend’s win over Toledo kicked off at 7 p.m. Ohio State has not lost a home primetime kickoff since a 31-16 loss to Oklahoma in 2017.
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 85th meeting between Ohio State and Wisconsin, with the Buckeyes holding a 61-18-5 lead in series. Ohio State has won the last eight meetings between these teams dating back to 2011, with three of those wins coming in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Badgers have not won since a 31-18 victory in Madison in 2010, and they have not won at Ohio State since a 24-13 win in 2004. The most recent matchup was in the 2019 Big Ten Championship Game in which Ohio State came back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to claim the conference title. This is the longest stretch without a game played between Ohio State and Wisconsin dating back to the mid-2000’s, when the teams played just twice in a four-year period from 2004-07.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
- Quarterback Graham Mertz: Mertz has thrown just 62 passing attempts this season but has completed 71.0 percent of his throws for 697 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
- Running back Braelon Allen: Allen has had a pair of muted outings, with neither contest against Washington State or New Mexico State seeing him reach 100 rushing yards. Even so, he’s ran for 332 yards and five touchdowns this season while averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
- Linebacker Nick Herbig: Herbig is third among all Badgers’ with 11 tackles and has a team-high four sacks and five tackles for loss.
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time/Result |
| Sept. 3 | Notre Dame | Columbus, Ohio | W, 21-10 |
| Sept. 10 | Arkansas State | Columbus, Ohio | W, 45-12 |
| Sept. 17 | Toledo | Columbus, Ohio | W, 77-21 |
| Sept. 24 | Wisconsin | Columbus, Ohio | 7:30 p.m., ABC |
| Oct. 1 | Rutgers | Columbus, Ohio | 3:30 p.m., TBA |
| Oct. 8 | Michigan State | East Lansing, Mich. | TBA |
| Oct. 22 | Iowa | Columbus, Ohio | TBA |
| Oct. 29 | Penn State | State College, Pa. | TBA |
| Nov. 5 | Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | TBA |
| Nov. 12 | Indiana | Columbus, Ohio | TBA |
| Nov. 19 | Maryland | College Park, Md. | TBA |
| Nov. 26 | Michigan | Columbus, Ohio | 12 p.m., FOX |
| Dec. 3 | Big Ten Championship Game | Indianapolis, Ind. | 8 p.m., FOX |
