No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 8 Wisconsin 30-23 in a wild overtime thriller Saturday night, but the seeds for that victory were planted in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes trailed 16-6 and faced a fourth-and-1 at the 27-yard line, and Meyer opted to go. Mike Weber picked up the first down. Three plays later, same situation. Weber picked up another first down. That led to a touchdown for J.T. Barrett. That cut the lead to 16-13, and from there Ohio State found its way.
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Meyer’s aggressiveness paid off once again, and now the Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) are 20-0 in true road games since 2012. This also marks the second time a Meyer-coached team went into Madison and won in overtime; the first was four years ago.
“This is great for our conference,” Meyer said on the ABC telecast afterward. “What an environment. We have a lot of respect for that football team.”
Meyer is right about that, too. It’s the second thrilling top 10 showdown the conference has produced this month. Michigan beat Wisconsin (4-2, 1-2) on Oct. 1, and there are more monster games on the way. Nebraska plays Wisconsin. Ohio State plays Nebraska. The chain still leads to that Ohio State-Michigan showdown in the regular-season finale, but this proved once again that getting two undefeated teams there is anything but a given.
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The Buckeyes earned this one behind another tough effort from Barrett, who had 21 carries for 92 yards and two TDs. He added a 17-of-29 passing performance with 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Wisconsin fought behind Alex Hornibrook, but once this game went into overtime — even on the road — it felt a lot like that game in 2012. The Badgers had their chances, but Barrett hit the go-ahead TD on a back-shoulder fade to Noah Brown. Hornibrook hit Robert Wheelwright for a 21-yard gain to the 4-yard line, but the Buckeyes made a goal-line stand that ended with a combo sack on the final play. Nick Bosa, Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard all applied the pressure.
Ohio State escaped Madison with a win — a feat the 2003 and 2010 teams couldn’t accomplish. Wisconsin could still win the Big Ten West Division and set up a rematch later with the Buckeyes or Wolverines. At least that game will be on neutral ground in Indianapolis.
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Meyer’s impressive string of true road game victories continues. That’s three straight wins against ranked opponents dating to last season’s win at No. 12 Michigan and the victory at No. 14 Oklahoma on Sept. 17.
Yet this victory closely resembled the double-overtime win at Penn State in 2014, which helped propel the Buckeyes to a national championship, which happens to be next week’s opponent. It’s another tough road game, but it’s even more difficult to bet against the Buckeyes under Meyer on the road.
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They haven’t lost that bet yet. Why would they start now?
