What Do You Want To See On Saturday? – Wisconsin edition

Fans, this is a big game.  Bigger than you might realize.  Hell, it’s bigger than I thought it would be.  A few weeks ago, I wrote it off as winnable without a second thought, but it’s not going to be that simple.

This game will actually give the winner sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

Now, before any Iowa fans get all pissy (as if there’s any other type of Iowa fan), let me explain.

The winner of OSU-UW will be 3-0 in the Big Ten.  Even if the Hawkeyes beat Michigan this weekend, Iowa will be 2-0 in the conference.  That’s one-half game behine the first-place team.  See?

Anyway, this game is a big one, and the staff at The BBC has a lot to look for in this one.  So let’s get into it….what do you want to see on Saturday?

Jeff at The BBC

There’s a reason these guys all write for The BBC….they’re brilliant minds with a passion for Ohio State football.  Plus, they’re writing exactly what I’m thinking right now.  Rather than get all redundant on you, I’ll just let them say the same things I was going to say.  That way, I won’t be redundant, cause redundancy is SO redundant.

MaliBuckeye

Stalwart D – Look, we all know Wisconsin is going to run the ball. The key will be stopping it without needing to bring safety/corner help. Missing Larimore, we’ll need a big game from the rest of the front. We’ll also need Misters Rolle, Homan, and Spitler to ensure that they introduce themselves to Garrett Graham.

INT Time – Seriously? He’s only thrown three interceptions this season? If we can get pressure with our front, this should change this week.  We haven’t had a pick six yet this year, and no interceptions by a cornerback… Saturday looks like a good day to start.

Healthy OL – Everyone’s got the flu, or is banged up… the young guys are playing well, but being healthy across the front will ensure that this game is over by halftime.

TP Acceleration – Dude just glides when he runs, except for that rare occasion when he puts his foot in the ground and this happens.

More, please.

Special Teams Win – Our kickoff coverage has given up more yardage than we’d like, we’ve got a “hey, let’s take three delay of games” guy at placekicker, and punt returns are always an adventure. How’s about returning to Tresselball excellence in the “hidden yardage” aspect of the game?

Home Field Advantage – Buckeye fans- Remember the noise you made against U$C?  Let’s go there again- your vocal chords are healed by now, right?

Oh, yeah – No false start penalties.

Jim

Shut down Wisconsin’s run game – It is almost amazing how many different offensive variations the Buckeyes have encountered in such a short amount of time this season. From the triple option of Navy, the pro style sets of USC, the spread attack employed by Toledo, who knows what to call the (lack of) offense Illinois took the field with, and finally, the pistol sets that Indiana utilized last week, the Buckeyes have faced a different offensive attack every single week. This week that trend continues as we get to see an entirely new offense, the classic Wisconsin power run game, complete with 250 pound (at least) bruiser John Clay at running back.

Clay has carried that ball 32 times in each of the past two games and has averaged 162 yards and 2 TDs in those games. Needless to say, you can expect a heavy dose of Clay Saturday afternoon and for the Buckeyes to win the Silver Bullets will need to stop Wisconsin from running the ball.

I have good news though, I think we can do it. Clay is a big boy and needs a little bit of room to get rolling, if our D-Line can penetrate into the backfield and bottle him up before he starts rumbling I don’t think he will get very far. Our D-Line has been very successful at doing just that to runners so far this season, but this week presents their biggest challenge since the USC game so they will need to rise to the challenge, particularly since starting DT Dexter Larimore will miss the game due to injury.

If the Buckeyes can shut down the Wisconsin run game that will be a major key to victory, but the defense will also need to…

Shut down Wisconsin’s passing game – For a team that is known for pounding the ball on the ground, Wisconsin has had quite a bit of success this year through the air. Starting Badger QB Scott Tolzien has completed over 65% of his passes for over 1000 yards and 9 TDs in five games this season, so the Badgers are not just a one trick pony on offense. The Buckeye D will need to stop the Badgers passing attack as well as the running attack to win this game comfortably, and since I am all about the Buckeye’s laying the smack down, I will be looking for the D to successfully crush all aspects of Wisconsin’s offense.

Expecting to shut down the run and the pass may be lofty expectations, and the Buckeyes probably only need to stop the run to win this game, but hey, the defense is performing at a very high level and I think they are very capable of stopping every offense they face for the rest of the season. Anything less would be a disappointment at this point, so I will be wanting to see total domination from the defense for the rest of the season.

Speaking of things that I want to see for the rest of the year…

Pryor continuing to develop – I know, I know, I am being extremely redundant with this, and I promise to think of some original ideas next week. For now though, I always come back to this point because each week it seems like Pryor does a few things to make me feel better about his development and a few things that make me think he still needs work. So, it’s the same old story this week. I do feel like Pryor has improved each week, but the sky is the limit with this one, so I will continue to look for more consistency out of Pryor each week at the very least (but I promise to stop talking about it so much).

Luckily, it seems like Wisconsin’s D is quite porous. They have been giving up 128 yards on the ground and 235 yards in the air per game against teams that don’t even come close to matching the talent that Ohio State will put on the field, which means that they should present a nice opportunity for Pryor to take the next step.

Marcus Hall – I mentioned in my week five update for the offensive line that Marcus Hall was supposed to get playing time against Indiana. Well, he did play in the game. Not only did he play, but he played very well, especially considering he is a true freshman who was getting his first collegiate action ever. Take this for what it’s worth, but word over at BuckeyePlanet is that the coaches think Hall may be one of the better pass blockers on the team regardless of class and if that is true, I will be very interested to see what type of impact Mr. Hall can have going forward now that his redshirt has been officially burned.

Eric

John Clay contained to less than 100 yards –  Clay is a powerful runner and probably the best RB at Wisconsin since Ron Dayne.  OSU must stop him in order to win the game.

D-Line get pressure on Tolzien – Tolzien has become a force for Wisconsin at Quarterback.  The D-Line is going to have to force him to make things happen repeatedly all game.

The two-parter: Turnovers:

No Buckeye Turnovers –  The Bucks cannot give Wisconsin easy chances with the kind of weapons Wisconsin possesses.  Limiting turnovers in this game is crucial.

At least 3 Wisky Turnovers –  Coupled with that, we need to force Wisconsin to give the ball up as many times as possible and limit the amount of time they have to score points.