No. 8 Wisconsin looks to rev up running game

No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 8 Wisconsin 30-23 in a wild overtime thriller Saturday night, but the seeds for that victory were planted in the third quarter.

Barrett rumbled into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown with 2:55 left in the third quarter to pull Ohio State within 16-13 as its offensive line picked up steam.

Tonight, Badgers freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook out played Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett in more ways than one!

Ohio State comes into this week’s game at 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Big Ten. In rushing, Corey Clement ran for 68 yards in 17 carries while Jazz Peavy added 23 yards in two carries. Barrett has been able to get away with some bad throws at times, but his 15-3 touchdown to interceptions is pretty solid and he’s been excellent in the run game as well with nearly five yards per carry and four scores.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett needs three more touchdowns passing and/or rushing to break Braxton Miller’s school record of being responsible for 88 touchdowns.

After beating a top-5 Louisville team on the road Tuesday, IU will look to build off that win when it travels Saturday to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin is 4-0 ATS versus a team with a winning record, and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Badgers face the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City this coming Saturday.

Penn State, like Wisconsin, had an off week before facing OSU in prime time.

Endicott kicked a 22-yard field to increase Wisconsin’s lead to 16-6 with 14 seconds remaining in the first half. Barrett passed for a season-low 93 yards last week in Ohio State’s 38-17 win over Indiana. Even after a lackluster first half, he played at a Heisman level in the second half to lift his team to a victory.

OSU coach Urban Meyer said he expected nothing less from his veteran quarterback.

Barrett said after the game, ” concerning the interception I have no excuse for that bad pass because it was my fault and I’m not going to blame the rain because at the end of the day it’s a team effort”. They did some good things against us. Ohio State can not put themselves in half time deficits like tonight’s 16-6 score.

It took a little while for Ohio State to get its bearings in the second half. On this night, the Buckeyes again had to rely too much on Barrett’s feet to get the job done. If Wisconsin can hang around and push the Buckeyes to the max, all I will say is this – the stadium will be rocking all night long. Still, Hornibrook settled down and made some big plays vs. a vaunted Buckeye defense.

In the second half, Ohio State’s offense showed up, controlling the time of play with almost an eight minute drive to the end zone for a touchdown.

But Barrett, as usual, led the Buckeyes’ charge.

Wisconsin responded on its next drive, going 81 yards on 11 plays to retake a 23-20 lead on a four-yard TD run from fullback Austin Ramesh with 7:54 to go.