Ohio State’s young football team had some growing
pains in Madison, but came together and matured when it mattered, coming back
from a ten-point deficit to win 30-23 in overtime. The Buckeyes are now 9-2 in overtime
games.
It seemed to be a tale of two halves.
A big reason why Ohio State trailed 16-6 at halftime was the inability
of the defense to contain the Badger offense on first down.
An average at best
offensive attack coming in, the Badgers simply
hammered the Buckeyes on 1st down in the opening half cranking out a ridiculous
210 yards on 18 plays, or 11.7 yards per play.
Against a variety of jet sweeps and play-action passes to the outside,
the Buckeyes continued to find themselves out of position defensively
which resulted in huge plays in the early going.
First year quarterback Alex Hornibrook was
finding success, particularly on the tight end routes across the middle, which
the Ohio State’s secondary seemed to have issues with.
This opened the way for Wisconsin running
back Corey Clement to bust off a few impressive runs, which resulted in Ohio
State’s defense limping into the locker room at halftime having surrendered a
whopping 313 total yards.
If not for a
couple of uncharacteristically bad throws by Hornibrook near the end of the
first half, the Buckeyes would’ve been down two touchdowns instead of 10 points.
Having Wisconsin settle for two short field
goals, rather than giving up touchdowns turned out to be huge.
With more than one golden opportunity to blow
the game open in the first half, the Badgers had to settle for 32- and
22-yard field goals in the final three minutes before intermission.
Each drive ended with the Buckeyes standing tall and stopping the Badger
rushing attack cold, then sacking Hornibrook on third down. It kept them in the
game.
Halftime adjustments made all the difference in the
world as the defense gave up a mere 137 yards in the second half and overtime
and gave up only one sustained Badger drive for a single touchdown. Wisconsin’s Corey Clement got loose for 110
yards in the first half, but was limited to just 54 yards after halftime. I noticed how Michael Hill, Robert Landers,
and Chris Worley really stepped up their game in the second half. Michael Hill stopped Corey Clement for no
gain on Wisconsin's first play of overtime and later on 1st and Goal from the
4, Robert Landers and Chris Worley stuffed Clement again for zero yards. Redshirt junior Tyquan Lewis was credited
with the game-clinching sack as Ohio State stopped Wisconsin on a 4th-and-goal
with the game on the line in overtime Saturday night. It was the Buckeyes'
fourth sack in the game.
It was also a tale of two halves for J.T. Barrett.
Barrett's numbers weren't the prettiest in
the first half—just 6-of-14 passing for 81 yards and eight carries for 38 yards
but he didn't quit and continued to show why his presence was the difference
for his team. He finished with 318 total yards and three touchdowns responsible
for (2 rushing, 1 passing).
Barrett’s
struggles in the downfield passing game continued in the first half.
Wisconsin was doing a good job in rotating
their safeties to cover the deep routes and Barrett simply couldn’t find
anybody open.
In the second half, he had
better luck.
Marcus Baugh and Dontre
Wilson each had a great catch near the sideline for big gains, created in large
part by Barrett’s ability to throw on the run.
At some point, I felt they needed to get Noah Brown involved more in the
passing game, and they did in the second half.
Brown finished with four catches for 48 yards and the game-winning
touchdown catch in overtime.
This young Ohio State team may have come of age in this game.
In the first half, the Badgers were the
aggressors, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides.
But, from then on, they managed to be the aggressors
and the youngsters did not flinch in a hostile environment.
With a trip to another hostile environment in
Happy Valley next week, this game could be a milestone in the development of
these young players and this team.
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