11-03-07 Wisconsin Game Summary

Come on, you weren’t really nervous, were you?

Ohio State drove, drove on down the field to score on their opening drive for the seventh straight week, then allowed Wisconsin to claim a third quarter lead before riding Chris Wells to a decisive 38-17 conquest of Wisconsin before 105,449 fans in the ‘Shoe.

The Badgers had won their previous three trips into Columbus (1999, 2001 and 2004), overcoming double-digit deficits each time. And even without sophomore tailback P.J. Hill, quarterback Tyler Donovan had his team in the lead into the second half. But a 10-sack effort by the OSU defense and a big ol’ dose of C-Dub did Wisky in. Jim Tressel revealed in the postgame press conference that Chris Wells had been sick Friday on into game time, but the burly tailback shook it off with a 169-yard, 3-touchdown display.

It was business as usual on the Buckeyes’ first possession. Todd Boeckman came out firing to Brian Hartline for 19 and Brian Robiskie for 8, followed by a four-yard carry by Wells, giving the Bucks a first down and putting C-Dub at 1,000 yards rushing on the nose for the season. Boeckman made it 3-for-3 with a 13-yard toss to Ray Small, moving the football to Wisconsin’s 32. The St. Henry junior went to the endzone for Robiskie, but corner Jack Ikegwuonu broke up the pass. After a 2-yard catch by Rory Nicol, the Bucks came out in 5-wide. Robo, out of the right slot, caught a short flip and made a great move on Ikegwuonu. Putting his left hand down to keep his balance, Robiskie won a footrace to paydirt to complete the 30-yard play, and OSU broke on top 7-0.

The Badgers wasted little time showing that they would pull out all the stops, breaking out a reverse on the opening kickoff. Daven Jones’ fine return would’ve been called back with a block-to-the-back call, but Trevor Robinson was also flagged for a late shove out of bounds on Jones, so when the dust cleared Wisconsin would begin from their own 23. The usual ground-bound attack gained the day’s initial first down, then freshman Zach Brown shook a Doug Worthington tackle and powered for another 15 to the Badger 49. Vernon Gholston began a monster day with a third-down sack of Tyler Donovan, forcing a punt, but Bret Bielema went back into the special-teams trick bag and ordered up a fake punt. Ken DeBauche let fly with a tight spiral towards backup punter Paul Standring as Marcus Freeman got off balance trying to backpedal in coverage. Standring made the grab at the sidelines for 31 yards and the Cardinal and White were back in business. Wisky worked down to the Buckeye 2, but on third-and-goal Anderson Russell broke through to smack Brown for a 2-yard loss. Kicker Taylor Mehlhaff capped off the march with a 21-yard field goal, slicing the Ohio State lead to 7-3.

A 14-yard, third-down scramble by Boeckman and an 11-yard sprint by Chris Wells highlighted a jaunt into Badger territory, but on third down a Boeckman pass was tipped twice by defenders before the QB grabbed it himself. Todd Boeckman the receiver probably won’t be too pleased with his stat line of a 13-yard loss, and I would guess Todd Boeckman the quarterback won’t be looking for him again anytime soon.

On Wisconsin’s ensuing possession, Travis Beckum, a stud tight end in the mold of Kellen Winslow, Jr., moved the chains with a 15-yard reception. But Vernon Gholston struck again on the very next snap, burying Tyler Donovan for a loss of 8. Following a Badger punt, Chris Wells banged out a first down on two carries, but a holding call on Dionte Johnson effectively ended the drive. Donovan found the going even more brutal on the next series as Doug Worthington and Nader Abdallah flattened him on back-to-back plays. Ray Small returned Ken DeBauche’s punt 50 yards to the Badger 15, but a block-in-the-back on Shaun Lane wiped it out. The Bucks couldn’t get anything going but looked as if they had caught a break on the punt return as James Laurinaitis landed a wicked shot on returner David Gilreath, forcing a fumble that Trever Robinson snapped up at the Wisky 35. But the replay booth took another look at the play and ruled Gilreath’s knee was down before the hit.

Following two 4-yard totes by Zach Brown, Wisconsin tried to get cute again with a reverse pass from Beckum, but the secondary had everything covered up and Larry Grant was able to get in on the sack parade, pulling Beckum down for a loss of 9. DeBauche’s punt actually hit Tyler Moeller as it landed, but Brian Hartline alertly scooped the ball up and managed to get out to his own 33. Two plays later on 3rd-and-3, Todd Boeckman, who had come up short on his last 3 pass attempts following a 12-for-14 start, fired deep for a wide open Hartline. The pass was a bit long, but Hartline stretched out to make an acrobatic diving catch at the Badger 15. When Boeckman found Ray Small across the middle for an 11-yard pickup, OSU had a 1st-and-goal at the 4. Following an incompletion, Boeckman and Brian Robiskie hooked up at the right pylon for an apparent score, but the Bucks were called for an ineligible man downfield. Having watched the replay, I can assure you no offensive linemen were past the line of scrimmage, which would leave only the possibility that Robiskie went out-of-bounds and came back in. Robo disappeared into the Big Ten Network’s graphics on the screen, so I can’t be for sure, but it sure looked as if Brian had plenty of room to maneuver. With the ball back at the 9, Boeckman missed Rory Nicol in the left flat, and then took a sack. Ryan Pretorious trotted out and delivered a 27-yard field goal, and the Scarlet and Gray went off at the half with a 10-3 lead.

Halftime was highlighted by the retirement of Bill Willis’ number 99. Willis was a member of the 1942 national title team, and earned All-American honors as a lineman in both 1943 and 1944. Bill is a member of the Ohio High School, College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, as well as the Ohio

State Athletics Hall of Fame. Although Bill wasn’t technically the first African-American player at Ohio State or in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, he is remembered as a trailblazer nonetheless. Athletic Director Gene Smith utilized the ceremony to present Willis with a replica of his 1942 championship ring, which had been stolen recently from Bill. Defensive end Jay Richardson from last season’s team will have the honor of being the final player to wear #99.

Last November, at the Celebrities for Diabetes dinner during Michigan week, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and get an autograph from Bill Willis, and he was a true gentleman. Needless to say, the buildup to last season’s titanic tilt with the Wolverines was palpable all throughout the evening’s proceedings, but MC Jeff Logan’s introduction of Willis deservedly produced one of the night’s most rousing ovations.

Wisconsin was backed up to their own 8-yard line after another block-in-the-back call on the second half kickoff. Zach Brown immediately provided breathing room with a 22-yard burst over the left side. Two more trips by Brown gained 7 before Tyler Donovan found Paul Hubbard on a crossing route. Chimdi Chekwa floated along with Hubbard initially but for some reason went the other way with tight end Garrett Graham, leaving Hubbard all alone. The speedy senior, who missed 5 games earlier this year due to injury, used a super block on Donald Washington by Kyle Jefferson to motor all the way to the OSU 13. It looked as though the defense would get off the hook two plays later as Marcus Randle El, little bro of Antwaan, was whistled for an illegal chop block. Bret Bielema went ballistic and had to be dragged off the field by his assistants, but he calmed himself on the next play. Donovan somehow escaped from Cameron Heyward, and with Marcus Freeman bearing down fast, unloaded towards Travis Beckum in the back of the endzone. Beckum made a great diving catch to complete the 28-yard play, and the Ohio State defense had allowed their first touchdown in Ohio Stadium for 2007. Taylor Mehlhaff’s PAT was true and the game was knotted up at 10.

The Bucks continued to sputter. Ray Small decided it was a good idea to bring the ensuing kickoff out from 5 yards deep in the endzone, and only made it to the 15. It did nothing to inspire the offense as they went three-and-out. The Badgers were again victimized by a block-to-the-back on

the punt but still had decent field position at their 38. Tyler Donovan threaded the needle to hit Hubbard for one first down, and then facing a 3rd-and-16 moments later thanks to another Vernon Gholston sack, he dialed up Travis Beckum at the OSU 35. Malcolm Jenkins went for the hit but forgot to wrap up, and Beckum sprung free and raced down to the Buckeye 4. The stingy "D" forced a 3rd-and-goal, but Jenkins was too late to cover fullback Chris Pressley out of the backfield and Donovan found him in the left flat for the go-ahead score, lifting the visitors into a 17-10 lead at the 6:53 mark of the third period.

Ray Small smartly stayed in the endzone with the next kickoff, but when Todd Boeckman’s first down pass to Rory Nicol gained absolutely nothing, the natives started getting restless. Brian Hartline picked up 9 on a second down catch; taking one for the team as linebacker Jonathan Casillas rocked him. At that moment, Jim Tressel closed off the passing part of the playbook, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Chris Wells hammered for 5 on 3rd-and-1, followed by a Hartline reverse for 9 more as the sophomore wideout shimmied right around Elijah Hodge. Wells pecked away for 18 yards on four tries, and then Boeckman got in on the act, snaking for 8 on a quarterback draw to the 31. C-Dub got the rock and with Steve Rehring clearing the way with a tremendous block, Wells cut back left, slid around a Rory Nicol block and galloped into the southeast corner for the equalizer at the 2:41 mark.

For the fourth time in the game, Wisconsin got nailed for a block to the back, pushing them back to their 9. This time they couldn’t get out of the woods and OSU took possession at the Badger 49 with the offense humming and ready to roll.

A false start call and an incompletion brought up a quick 2nd-and-15, but the "O" responded as Chris Wells made another cutback run for 11, and Boeckman continued to look like Craig Krenzel in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, working the QB draw for 7 and a first down at the Wisky 36 as the third quarter ended.

Maurice Wells hit a jab with a six-yard pickup, then came the haymaker as Chris Wells headed right and cut behind Steve Rehring who was in the process of burying a Badger defender. Slipping away from Aubrey Pleasant, C-Dub shifted into overdrive and cruised untouched for six, putting OSU back up top 24-17. After gaining just 26 yards on 6 first half carries, Wells had now racked up 123 yards on 15 totes.

Wisconsin’s next series bogged down at their own 27, but a huge mental gaffe would unquestionably swing the momentum towards the Scarlet and Gray. The Badgers apparently have a signal that if a punt coverage unit is aligned a certain way that they’ll run a fake. What doesn’t help is when everyone knows the fake is off except the punter. Ken DeBauche took off running and

was blasted by James Laurinaitis short of the marker. Bielema and his unit would be roundly second-guessed after the game and it was evident that the Badgers had gone to the trick bag once too often.

Aided by an offside penalty on Wisconsin which resulted in a first down, OSU covered the necessary 25 yards in 4 plays, cashing in with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Todd Boeckman to Brian Robiskie. Robo didn’t even seem to be the intended receiver, as it appeared that Boeckman, rolling to his right, was shooting for Brandon Saine out of the backfield. Saine overran

the ball but Robiskie stuck his hand out and grabbed the pigskin for his second touchdown of the day, upping the count to 31-17.

The game appeared to decisively blow up in Wisconsin’s face on the very next snap, as Zach Brown fumbled with Laurinaitis recovering. But the Wisky "D" forced a field goal that Mike Newkirk blocked to keep the Badgers’ slim hopes alive.

Travis Beckum’s solid day continued with an 18-yard snag on the next drive, but a Laurinaitis sack on Donovan pretty much cooled the march. On Wisconsin’s next series Thaddeus Gibson, who had spent some time in the doghouse after walking out of practice following a spat with the coaches, shed his blocker and plowed into Donovan, forcing a fumble that Dexter Larimore fell on at the Badger 23. The proverbial knockout punch was delivered immediately as Chris Wells took a pitch around the left side for a 23-yard touchdown. Wells’ third tally of the day was one of the best blocked plays this team has produced all season, with special mention going to Steve Rehring, Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie downfield. Ohio State had now run off 28 unanswered points and had salted things away at 38-17.

The final Badger march came up empty, thanks to sacks from Todd Denlinger and Vernon Gholston (his record-tying fourth of the contest). But the officials, who obviously had taken the points, did their best to help Wisky get another score with a pair of lame interference calls. Hey "Stripes", the game was on the Big Ten Network, so if you were trying to get some face time, your own parents probably didn’t even see you.

Ohio State will bring the curtain down on its home schedule this Saturday with a 3:30 meeting on ABC with a resurgent Illinois club who has third place in the Big Ten all to themselves. Wisconsin will return to Camp Randall to beat up on TBGUN for us in a noon matchup. The Badgers may not win, but just beat ‘em up good for us.

RANDOM THOUGHTS- Umpire Jeff Carr was bowled over by Doug Worthington in the second quarter, but got right back up. Carr may have anticipated a problem- Dave Witvoet, who was the referee last Saturday, fell and suffered a dislocated shoulder last year during the Bucks’ home opener against Northern Illinois ... Ohio State has reached the 10-win plateau for the 17th time in school history. 13 of the previous 16 squads to accomplish the feat went on to at least capture a share of the Big Ten crown…James Laurinaitis was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week for his 19-tackle effort against Wisconsin and shared the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor with Penn State’s Sean Lee ... Pennsylvania quarterback Terrelle Pryor,

the nation’s #1 recruit, was in attendance Saturday. Ohio State is on Pryor’s final list but he has said he won’t make his decision until signing day in February. At 6’6" and 215 pounds, Pryor has drawn comparisons to Vince Young, and recently had both Jim Tressel and Thad Matta come see his regular season football finale (Pryor has made it known he’d like to play hoops at the college level) ...

Illinois’ all-time record against #1 ranked teams (2 wins, 12 losses)-