Strong Fourth Quarter Propels OSU over Wisconsin
November 03, 2007 | Football
November 3, 2007
COLUMBUS, Oh. Despite playing without star running back P.J. Hill, the Wisconsin football team (7-3, 3-3 Big Ten) gave the No. 1 team in the country all it could handle for three quarters. However, behind 21 fourth-quarter points, Ohio State remained unbeaten, defeating the Badgers 38-17 in Columbus today.
UW used a hot start to the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead. The Badgers scored touchdowns on their first two drives after halftime and Chris Pressley''s 2-yard touchdown reception gave Wisconsin its first lead of the day. OSU scored touchdowns on its next three possessions, though, to take control of the game.
Starting the game, Ohio State wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. The Buckeyes got the ball to open the game and came out gunning. They passed on six of their seven plays, driving 75 yards in just 2:45 to jump out to a 7-0 lead. The scoring play was a 30-yard pass from Todd Boekman to Brian Robiskie.
Wisconsin answered on its ensuing drive, using a little trickery to do so. That Badgers ' drive seemingly stalled after Tyler Donovan was sacked for a loss of five yards on third-and-7. That set up a fourth-and-12 for UW at its own 47-yard line.
The punt team trotted on but instead of trying to pin the Buckeyes deep in their own end, punter Ken DeBauche rolled right and looked back along the left sideline for backup punter Paul Standring. DeBauche lofted a perfectly placed ball and Standring made an over-the-shoulder catch right before he went out of bounds. The 31-yard gain gave UW the ball on the OSU 22.
Wisconsin was able to move down within the shadows of the goal line but freshman running back Zach Brown was stuffed on third-and-goal from the two. Taylor Mehlhaff came on and converted a 21-yard field goal. In all, the drive lasted 14 plays and took 7:26 off the clock.
The game stayed 7-3 until the final drive of the half. Ohio State took over on its own 33-yard line with 1:46 to go until halftime. Facing a third-and-3 from their 40, the Buckeyes connected on a 45-yard pass from Boeckman to Brian Hartline. OSU moved inside the 10-yard line but UW''s defense stiffened and forced a 27-yard field goal. That made the score 10-3 at halftime.
Just like OSU did to open the game, Wisconsin took the opening kickoff of the second half and found the end zone. The drive featured a number of big plays. Brown opened the drive with a 22-yard run. Three plays later, Donovan found Paul Hubbard wide open across the middle. Hubbard turned the play up field and, with the help of a Kyle Jefferson block, raced down the sideline for a gain of 50 yards.
An illegal block penalty backed UW up to the OSU 28. On the next play, Donovan scrambled to his left and found Travis Beckum streaking in the back of the end zone, right along the end line. Donovan laid a beautiful ball, low and away from the two defenders covering Beckum, allowing the UW tight end to make a sliding catch to tie the score.
Beckum made another big play on the Badgers'' next drive. Facing a third-and-16 from the 50-yard line Donovan found Beckum over the middle. Beckum was hit almost immediately after the catch but bounced off the OSU defender and raced down to the Ohio State 4-yard line. On third-and-goal from the two, Donovan faked a handoff to Brown and Pressley in the end zone as the Badgers' took their first lead of the game, 17-10.
Ohio State answered with its first touchdown since the game''s opening drive. The Buckeyes went 80-yards in 10 plays and tied the game at 17-17 on Chris Wells' 31-yard touchdown run. OSU kept the ball on the ground for the final eight plays of the drive.
Wells struck again on Ohio State''s next drive. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Wells took a handoff, started up the middle and found daylight around the left end, racing 30-yards for the go-ahead score. All 54 of Ohio State''s yards on the drive came on the ground.
A pair of Badger miscues set up OSU''s final touchdowns. On fourth-and-3 from the UW 27-yard line DeBauche attempted to run for the first down but was stopped for a two-yard loss. It took Ohio State just four plays to cash in, with Boeckman finding Robiskie for an 8-yard scoring toss. That made the score 31-17 with 10:05 left.
Late in the fourth quarter, Donovan was sacked and fumbled the ball. OSU recovered at the Wisconsin 23-yard line. Wells took the next play to house, scoring his third touchdown of the second half.
Wisconsin returns home to face Michigan next Saturday. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.
UW Game Notes
General Notes
' Today's captains were DB Ben Strickland, LB Jonathan Casillas, P Ken DeBauche and TE Andy Crooks.
' Ohio State won the toss and elected to receive.
Team Notes
' Wisconsin''s 93-yard touchdown drive to open the second half was its longest scoring drive of the season.
' Wisconsin''s 17 points tied the most for an Ohio State opponent this season and the Badgers joined Washington as the only teams this season to score two offensive touchdowns against OSU.
' UW is now 3-15 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.
Individual Notes
' Freshman running back Zach Brown made his first career start today. Brown finished with career highs in rushes (20) and rushing yards (63).
' Tight end Travis Beckum recorded his sixth career 100-yard receiving game (and third of the season), totaling nine catches for 140 yards. His 140 yards are the second-most in a game in his career. He now has 1,668 career receiving yards, good for ninth in UW history.
' Paul Hubbard''s 50-yard catch in the third quarter was the longest reception of his career and the second-longest pass play for the Badgers this season. Travis Beckum''s 46-yard catch later in the quarter was UW's third-longest passing play of the season.
' After not scoring a touchdown in his first two seasons, fullback Chris Pressley has two TDs in the last three games. His two-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was the first TD catch of his career.
' Punter Ken DeBauche completed his first career pass on the Badgers'' fake punt in the first quarter. He had been 0-for-3 in his career, with single incompletions in each of his first three seasons.
' Backup punter Paul Standring, a special teams standout, was on the receiving end of DeBauche''s pass. It was the first career reception for Standring.
' With his first quarter field goal, kicker Taylor Mehlhaff is now 15-of-17 (.882) on the season. That is the second-best season FG percentage in UW history, behind Matt Davenport''s .905 in 1998. For his career, Mehlhaff is 44-of-57 (.772) on field goals, second only to Davenport in career FG percentage in school history.
' Nick Hayden''s blocked field goal in the fourth quarter was the third blocked kick of his career (two FGs and one extra point).
