Ohio State wasted no time silencing the critics that said they would not be able to compete with a third string quarterback. Led by a dominant defensive effort and some big plays on offense, the Buckeyes rolled over Wisconsin, winning 59-0.
Early on, Cardale Jones threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith on their first drive to give the Buckeyes a quick 7-0 lead. From there they didn’t look back. Later in the first quarter, Ezekiel Elliot busted off an 81 yard touchdown run that gave them a 14-0 lead and finished with 20 carries for 220 yards and two touchdowns.
With 224 yards of offense in the first quarter allowed the Buckeyes to get a commanding 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter; and they started the second quarter inside the Wisconsin 10, where they kicked a field goal to get a 17-0 lead early on in the second.
Later in the quarter, Jones hit Devin Smith again for another long touchdown pass, this one good for 44 yards. That put the Buckeyes up 24-0. Elliot ran for another touchdown and to cap it off Joey Bosa returned a fumble four yards for a touchdown to make it 38-0 at half.
Jones hit Devin Smith for a 42 yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 45-0. Smith finished with just four catches but three touchdowns, good for 137 yards.
In the fourth quarter they put the icing on the cake with two Curtis Samuel touchdown runs to provide the final score of 59-0.
Michael Bennett, who is listed at #63, wore #53 to honor late teammate Kosta Karageorge. The Buckeyes defense was absolutely dominant, holding the powerful Wisconsin offense to 259 yards and just 83 rushing yards. Melvin Gordon was held in check all night—only being able to gain 76 rushing yards on 26 carries with a fumble. Ohio State forced three interceptions from Joel Stave to just shellack the Badgers offense.
With this win, the Buckeyes have added a huge plus to their resume to get into the college football playoff. Whether they have done enough to compensate for their loss to Virginia Tech remains to be seen. In addition to this win, they also have a win over Michigan State in East Lansing and defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis to boost their resume. They didn’t leave much flair for the dramatic this season, with each game they played being decided by more than one possession, with the lone exception being their 31-24 double OT win in Happy Valley over Penn State.