The Wisconsin Badgers were shut out for the second consecutive week at Camp Randall Stadium, as the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes won 34-0. It was another abysmal performance by the Badger offense, where they finished with 144 yards of total offense against the stout Buckeye defense.
If there is any silver lining in this game, it is that there was an improved effort in this game than against Iowa, particularly among the defensive line and linebackers. But once again, it’s another appalling 30+ point
shutout loss in Madison.
Next week, the Badgers complete their October from hell when they take on another top-10 opponent, Oregon, in Eugene. Action Network already has the Ducks as 33.5-point favorites.
Here are three things that stood out from Wisconsin’s loss to Ohio State.
Julian Sayin
Sayin came into this game as the most accurate quarterback in the Big Ten Conference, and he put on a show against a porous Badger secondary. On the Buckeyes’ first drive, Sayin was 8-for-8 on all passing attempts, including a perfect 33-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate.
You cannot place the football any better here.
Sayin finished the game with four touchdown passes and a season-high 393 passing yards on 36-of-42 passes. It was a tremendous showcase that should vault Sayin into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
End of 1st half
After the Badgers’ loss at Michigan, which featured Luke Fickell keeping his timeouts at the end of the game, Fickell talked about having more of “a competitive spirit”. We heard from Fickell this week on how Wisconsin has “nothing to lose”.
With 1:12 left in the first half and the Badgers down 17-0 after a Buckeye missed field goal with two timeouts, surely we would see an aggressive Wisconsin team try to score, right? After all, we have nothing to lose.
Wrong.
Wisconsin handed the ball three straight times to Cade Yacamelli to gain nine yards and punt. That’s not playing with a competitive spirit, nor is it playing with nothing to lose.
Competitive spirit
Speaking of competitive spirit, I want to shout out two players who displayed that for Wisconsin. In the box score, Ben Barten had two solo tackles, but he was disruptive on the defensive line. With 7:45 left, Barten knifed through the Buckeye interior line to halt Ohio State running back CJ Donaldson on third down and force the only Buckeye punt on the day.
Christian Alliegro, who played the game with a cast over his arm, finished the game with six total tackles. After the game, Fickell revealed that Alliegro played with a broken arm. That shows the character of Allegro to continue to suit up and play through the pain despite how bad things are for Wisconsin.
