Ohio State has won nine of its last 10 meetings with the Wisconsin Badgers, but that stat doesn’t tell the whole story.
Five of the last six matchups between the teams have ended in one-score games.
There was the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game, when Wisconsin overcame a 21-7 first-half deficit to claw back to within a field goal before losing, 27-21.
And that was nothing compared to the year prior.
“The biggest memory I can think of with Wisconsin in my career here, at least, was 2016,” said senior right tackle Branden Bowen. “We went to Camp Randall and it was double-overtime. That game was a war.”
Games between the Buckeyes and Badgers aren’t just close on the scoreboard. They’re also some of the most physical games Ohio State ever plays.
“It’s always a war with Wisconsin,” Bowen said.
“It’s just the programs. The culture of the programs. We’re both built on toughness. It’s a war. Everyone knows Wisconsin is a tough, ram-it-down-your-throat type of offense and stop-the-run kind of defense. We’re the exact same. So when two teams get together like that, you just know it’s going to be a battle.”
The Badgers have built their program on a lot of effective, but not necessarily flashy cornerstones. They run the ball well. They’re very sound and strong in the trenches, and they play good defense.
OSU defensive coordinator Greg Mattison has been plenty of Wisconsin over the years, and said the key to their success is on the sideline.
“The one thing, they’re very well coached” Mattison said. “This is a very, very good coaching staff. They do an outstanding job. They recruit big, strong players up front for their system and now they’ve got some great skill also with it.”
One reason the Badgers are able to pound on people is their size. The smallest offensive lineman they have is David Moorman, who weighs in at a slight 307 lbs. Moorman is a native of Michigan, so he likely didn’t grow up on the two official food groups of the state of Wisconsin, sausage and cheese, like the other four in-state starters did.
Sophomore Logan Bruss weighs 310 lbs, junior Cole Van Lanen is 312 lbs, junior Tyler Biadasz tips the scales at 321, and senior Jason Erdman is at 328 lbs.
Senior defensive tackle Robert Landers said that size is just one of the reasons they’re such a challenge.
“I don’t know if it’s recruiting, I don’t know if it’s what they’re feeding them, I have no idea. But I know coming into every game, even outside of their size, they’re always tough. Always tough. Their stature plus their mentality, they’re going to be hungry coming into the game just like we are. It’s going to be a good one,” Landers said.
A good one would be an interesting change of pace for this year’s Ohio State team. The Bucks have gone into the locker room at halftime with a lead of at least three scores in each of their first seven games. Saturday is shaping up to be their first true test of the year.
“It’s exciting. Games like this are why you come to Ohio State,” Landers said. “It’s going to be one of those games that’s going to go four quarters. Might come down to the last two minutes of the game.”
All season long, OSU players and coaches have dutifully been repeating the line that they’re not looking past anyone and making sure to take every opponent equally seriously. But, like in Animal Farm, some opponents may be a little more equal than others.
“We’ve had this game marked since the end of last season,” Bowen said. “We knew this was going to be a test where we were excited for it. It’s always fun to be able to go against the No. 1 defense in the country.”
“They’re always going to play hard. They always work good within their system,” Landers said. “It’s one of those games where if you don’t bring your A-game, you don’t put your big-boy pants on, it can be a rough day.”
There’s gonna be some sore players after this one.