Buckeyes Run Past Badgers

It wasn’t pretty, there’s plenty to improve upon, but it was a win over a quality opponent in a very, very tough environment. The most encouraging aspect of this 20-17 win? The appearance of heart. This has been missing in the first few games and tonight, we saw it. After Wisconsin pulled ahead 10-7 in the second quarter, they could have packed it in, but they didn’t.

In the third quarter the defense held the Badgers to 27 yards on three possessions. That’s huge. Meanwhile, the offense put up 125 yards and 6 points, including the winning margin. In the 4th quarter the Badgers wouldn’t fold, they embarked upon a powerful 63 yard drive for a touchdown to pull ahead. Again, the Buckeyes could have collapsed and I’m sure many thought they would given the history this season.

How did they respond? They put an 80 yard touchdown drive together to pull ahead for good. Special teams kept the field position reasonable when Wisconsin got a final chance and the defense put it away with an interception. It was a team win and it showed progress - I couldn’t be happier for the team and indeed, I’m very proud of the way they pulled together and stepped up when faced with adversity.

That being said, there are some things to work on including penalties, limiting turnovers, line play on both sides, and the phenomenal Mr. Pryor learning to throw the ball away and not take expensive sacks. These issues are fixable and I believe the coaches will get on them. Heart I didn’t know about, now having seen it, I believe we could see some great things from this group.

GO BUCKS!

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