Wisconsin Suffers 34-0 Home Loss to No. 1 Ohio State
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers dropped their fifth-straight game on Saturday, this time to the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in a 34-0 loss at Camp Randall Stadium.
At home, the No. 1 team in the country did as expected and crushed Wisconsin on both sides of the ball. Fans have continuously pushed for the departure of Luke Fickell, and Saturday’s matchup was no exception. Badgers failed to score a point for the second game in a row.
The game opened with a Wisconsin punt, which set up Ohio State with an efficient drive down the field. It was capped off by a 33-yard touchdown catch by Carnell Tate. Julian Sayin immediately started carving up the Badgers’ defense, going 8-8 with 95 yards on the first drive.
But the Buckeyes didn’t stop beating up on the Badgers through the first 15 minutes. A Hunter Simmons interception set up Ohio State for a field goal, followed by another drive that ended with a Tate touchdown to go up 17-0.
The second quarter saw Wisconsin’s defense get a few key stops, and the offense even managed to get past midfield. Ohio State would end up scoreless in the second quarter after a series of stops on both sides despite getting Jeremiah Smith more involved.
The Buckeyes would miss a field goal to close out the half, but that didn’t stop the boos from raining down on Fickell.
The third quarter opened with a 37-yard Ohio State field goal to make it 20-0. From there, the Badger defense would get a few stops, but the offense would not be able to produce anything. A Will Kacmerik touchdown catch would make it 27-0 heading into Jump Around.
Simmons would go down with an injury, bringing Danny O’Neil into the game for the final 15 minutes.
The fourth quarter saw Wisconsin keep the game mildly interesting for one play with a fake punt for a 4th-down conversion. However, the excitement was short-lived as the Buckeyes quickly took the ball back. The game would slowly die from there with a Brandon Inniss touchdown catch.
Sayin would finish 36-42 with 394 yards and four touchdowns, while Tate and Smith combined for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Simmons would end 6-12 with 54 yards and an interception.
It feels redundant, but this marks yet another low point in the Luke Fickell era. It was expected, but that doesn’t take away from the on-field product.
Wisconsin now drops to 2-5 and 0-4 in Big Ten play. Ryan Day’s Buckeyes will move to 7-0 and 4-0 in conference matchups. The Badgers’ brutal October slate continues next weekend with a road game against Oregon.
