Players to watch and keys to the game for Ohio State vs. Wisconsin

This is a game the Buckeyes should win going away.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

Ohio State’s schedule for the next five games is… easy?

It’s crazy to think that the next five games are all matchups the Buckeyes should win and win comfortably, especially when you consider that Penn State and Rutgers were viewed as tough matchups earlier in the year.

Wisconsin has always been a team that poses a challenge with its physicality and ability to run the football. However, this year’s team does not do either of those things. The Badgers are 2-4 and 0-3 in the Big Ten, and they are trending

toward a pivotal offseason for the program.

Luke Fickell is a good head coach, but there are plenty of rumblings that this may be it for him in Madison, and playing the No. 1 Buckeyes isn’t the ideal matchup to turn the Badgers’ season around.

Let’s look at Wisconsin’s players to watch and keys to the game.

Quarterback: ?

Yup, that’s right. A question mark.

It’s not known who is going to be starting at quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers against Ohio State. Billy Edwards Jr. was supposed to be the starting quarterback coming into the season, but he has been injured since Week 1.

Head coach Luke Fickell said after the Badgers’ 37-0 loss to Iowa last week that Danny O’Neil and Hunter Simmons will compete in practice this week for the starting job against the Buckeyes.

Four Players to Watch on Wisconsin

1. Vinny Anthony II (WR)

Anthony is Wisconsin’s sure-handed, reliable receiver. He has 24 receptions for 274 yards and a touchdown on the season, averaging 11.4 yards per reception.

Coming off a 2024 campaign where he led the Badgers with 672 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 39 receptions, averaging 17.2 yards per reception, Anthony was named to the Paul Hornung Award preseason watch list coming into this season.

Anthony can break the game open with a big play.

2. Lance Mason (TE)

Mason is in his first season with the Badgers after three seasons at Missouri State. He was an All-American Honorable Mention by the AP and a Third-Team All-American by Stats Perform and FCS Football Central.

So far this season, Mason has 18 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 13.1 yards per reception.

3. Christian Alliegro (LB)

Alliegro is the Badgers’ leading tackler this season with 41 total tackles, which is 15 more than any other Badgers’ defensive player.

He was named to the Dick Butkus Preseason Watch List after recording 66 tackles and three sacks in 2024, including a 16-tackle game against Iowa.

4. Darryl Peterson III (LB)

When Peterson was in high school, he had 38.5 sacks over his last two seasons. He was named a USA Today All-USA Preseason Second Team in 2020.

Peterson has one sack and five tackles for loss this season, with 13 total tackles.

Head Coach: Luke Fickell (4th Season, 15-17 / 10th Season Overall, 78-42)

As someone who was a student at Cincinnati through Fickell’s first four seasons as the Bearcats’ head coach, I legitimately thought he was going to do well at Wisconsin. It was always going to be tough competing against Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State, and now Oregon, but I didn’t think he would struggle this much.

Fickell had an incredible six-year run at Cincinnati, going 57-18 and leading the Bearcats to the 2021 College Football Playoff. He won two American Conference championships and three American Conference Coach of the Year awards while also winning the Paul “Bear” Bryant, Eddie Robinson, and Walter Camp Coach of the Year awards in 2021.

Make no mistake, though. Fickell is still well known for his 16 seasons on the Ohio State coaching staff, which include 11 as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator.

He started as a graduate assistant in 1999 and was the Buckeyes’ co-defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2010. After serving as the Buckeyes’ interim head coach in 2011, Fickell returned as the co-defensive coordinator for the next five seasons.

The Buckeyes won the national championship in the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff in 2014.

Offensive Coordinator: Jeff Grimes (1st Season)

Grimes was brought in to revamp the offense, but it just hasn’t happened. The Badgers are averaging 15.5 points per game and 112.2 rushing yards per game. They’re averaging less than 300 yards per game on offense.

This is a coach who has been in numerous roles as an offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and run game coordinator. Grimes has previously coached at Kansas, Baylor, BYU, LSU, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Colorado, Arizona State, Boise State, Texas A&M, and Rice.

As a player at UTEP, Grimes was on teams coached by Andy Reid, Dave Toub, Marty Mornhinweg, and Dirk Koetter.

Defensive Coordinator: Mike Tressel (3rd Season)

Jim Tressel’s nephew, Mike Tressel, was Fickell’s defensive coordinator at Cincinnati during his final two seasons in the Queen City.

The Badgers are solid defensively, allowing 22.7 points and 317 yards per game. It’s forcing turnovers where they have struggled, with only four interceptions and no fumble recoveries.

Prior to Wisconsin and Cincinnati, Tressel was on Michigan State’s coaching staff as a defensive coordinator for five seasons. His first season was in 2015, when the Spartans went to the College Football Playoff. Tressel was Michigan State’s linebackers coach for eight seasons, after coaching the Bearcats’ linebackers for three seasons from 2004 to 2006.

Mike served on Jim’s coaching staff as a graduate assistant on the 2002 Buckeyes’ team that won the national championship.

Keys to the Game

1. Run the ball.

It feels like the Buckeyes are close to getting the run game going at full speed. In this game, running the ball will keep the Badgers’ defense on the field and wear them down. That will open up big plays in the passing game.

2. Don’t play down to your level of competition

That’s a key not only this week, but for the next five games. Wisconsin is not a good team record-wise or offensively. The Buckeyes need to come out and establish that this is not going to be a 60-minute battle.

3. Win the line of scrimmage

Even though this Badgers team struggles to run the football, it’s still key for the Buckeyes to win the line of scrimmage on Saturday. The Buckeyes’ defensive line should take over this game, but the performance of the offensive line and running game is something to watch.

4. Special teams

Jayden Fielding has been solid this season. Punter Joe McGuire has 13 punts for 532 yards for 40.9 yards per punt. Special teams are always a key to any game, and they are a key to Saturday’s game in Madison.