Dawg Recap: Ohio State Buckeyes dispatch Wisconsin Badgers

'Camp Randall Panorama' Photo Credit: Matt Schilder via Flickr

There are several discussions that arose after the Ohio State Buckeyes won a 24-10 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. Ryan Day certainly understands that winning at the highest level of college football is hard to accomplish. He certainly will take the 24-10 win and move forward, but the offense has to start performing at a much more efficient and higher level.

ohio State Buckeyes OFFENSIVE OUTPUT?

Ohio State is averaging 32.5 points per game with Kyle McCord at the helm. This is down 12 points from the previous year. Kyle McCord struggled to say the least this week as his 2 turnovers cost Ohio State some points. The first interception came late in the 1st quarter with the Buckeyes in control at the Badgers' 9-yard line on first down. McCord finished the game 17-26 for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with the 2 interceptions. Kyle McCord continues to showcase flashes of greatness but is inconsistent with his pocket presence and awareness overall. While McCord is the focal talking point of all Ohio State mishaps offensively, the rest of the offense outside of Marvin Harrison Jr has struggled as well.

The offensive line is still trying to get into a rhythm. They struggled mightily in pass-pro giving up 4 sacks. They ran the ball well against Wisconsin to the tune of 181 yards on 4.2 yards a carry. This could be much better but they were creating rushing lanes and had moments of controlling the LOS throughout the Saturday night contest. TreVeyon Henderson is a breath of fresh air has his dynamic ability was on display. Miyan Williams was out and inserted highly regarded Henderson. TreVeyon had 24 carries for 167 rushing yards and a touchdown. He was also the second-leading receiving with 4 catches for 45 yards. If TreVeyon Henderson can stay healthy, he will provide a major boost to help make life easier on the McCord.

Marvin Harrison Jr continues to show that he deserves to be in New York at the seasons. Maserati Marv hauled in 6 catches for 123 yards and both of McCord's passing touchdowns. Ryan Day and Hartline continue to call his number and he constantly delivers. Zone 6 mightily needs someone outside of Marvin to step up and make plays with Emeka Egbuka out.

Silver Bullets Welcome Home

Jim Knowles continues to prove that he is worth every bit of his $2 million contract. He has this defense flying around and producing at a high level. Wisconsin was held to 3.8 yards a carry for a total of 94 rushing yards. Wisconsin also was held in check as they threw for only 165 yards passing and were 18-39 on the day. The front 6 continue to show out and stop the run. Tommie Eichenberg and Jack Sawyer earned Defensive Players of the game after a great performance from both. The Backend is consistently looking like their Mantra, "BIA- Best in America." The Buckeyes held Wisconsin to 6 of 16 on 3rd down and 0 for 2 on 4th. They only allow 10 points per game through 8 games of the season. In the B1G, Ohio State is 1st defensively in yards per play with 3.9 yards allowed per play. They are 1st in yards per pass play with 4.8. Stats according to the B1G Ten conference.

Wisconsin Woes

With Starting quarterback, Tanner Mordecai out, Braedyn Locke along with very talented running back Braelon Allen were put to the task against the Ohio State Defense. Allen had rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries before leaving after the first half due to injury. With his star RB sidelined, coach Luke Fickell relied on Braedyn Locke to attempt to win the game. Locke finished 18-39 for 165 yards. Unable to make big-time throws, Fickell and crew fall to 5-3 in his first year as the Wisconsin Head Coach. Defensively, the Badgers made numerous plays but still fell short of gaining an edge on the scoreboard.

Match Ups ahead:

Despite the struggles offensively, Ohio State and Ryan Day will head to Piscataway, NJ to face Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights with an 8-0 record. They may be without Starting safety Latham Ransom and will have to see how J.T. Tuimoloau is doing after visibly being in pain prior to halftime, albeit finishing out the game. Wisconsin looks to jump back in the win column when traveling to Bloomington, Indiana to face the Hoosiers and Tom Allen.