Football: Bumbaca breaks down No. 8 Badgers’ matchup with No. 2 Buckeyes

UW faces highest ranked opponent of the season at home Saturday against OSU

by Chris Bumbaca

October 13, 2016

T.J. Edwards remembers watching the 2014 Big Ten Championship game — Ohio State’s 59-0 embarrassment of Wisconsin Dec. 5 of that year — from his dorm room in Madison.

Edwards, then redshirting, was on the scout team, which did not travel to Indianapolis for the showdown. Regardless, they felt the wrath of the Buckeyes from a couple state-lines away.

“It was hard to watch,” Edwards said. “I know a lot of guys worked really hard to make the Big Ten Championship Game. To see them lose like that, it was tough.”

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Now a redshirt sophomore inside linebacker, Edwards said the Badgers intend to flip the script Saturday night when No. 2 Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) visits Camp Randall Stadium to take on the No. 8 Badgers (4-1, 1-1).

Football: No. 8 Badgers must contain J.T. Barrett for shot at upsetting Ohio State

Senior running back Corey Clement actually played on the field during the game against Ohio State in 2014 as a sophomore in the midst of a successful season, backing up the best back in the nation, Melvin Gordon.

Clement disclosed Tuesday that neither he nor Gordon were fully healthy in that game.

“I don’t think half the team was 100 percent,” Clement said. “Myself, Melvin, a lot of those guys can relate back and — not laugh at the game — but just say, ‘Man, if we were only just one step closer to being healthy’ … It would have been a special game for us.”

But this season, Wisconsin will be coming off a bye week, with nearly two weeks of preparation for the Buckeyes. Wisconsin has won eight of its last nine games following the bye week. Redshirt sophomore center Michael Deiter said Camp Randall will be rocking, much to the delight of the Badgers.

“It’s just going to be that much more fun,” Deiter said Tuesday. “It’s that much more of an opportunity. To play against a team like this in an environment like it’s going to be, it’s going to be something special, something I’ll never forget.”

Still, the defense will be missing its leader in Vince Biegel. The fifth-year senior is still in a walking boot, following surgery to repair a cracked foot. Junior cornerback and special teams impact-player Natrell Jamerson is also still out.

The last night game between Wisconsin and Ohio State at Camp Randall is one UW fans will never forget. The first-ranked Buckeyes fell to the Badgers in front of a raucous crowd, which reached a seemingly immeasurable decibel-level when David Gilreath returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. It was Wisconsin’s only win over Ohio State since 2004 (the Buckeyes have claimed seven of the last eight Badger games).

UW head coach Paul Chryst said earlier this week he respects immensely the way Urban Meyer has constructed the Buckeyes’ football program. Meyer won his third national title (first at OSU) after steamrolling the Badgers in the Big Ten Championship Game and capturing the first title of the College Football Playoff era.

The memories are still there, but it’s time to leave them in the rearview mirror, Clement said.

“That’s two years ago,” Clement said. “Now we can look forward to this one. Put the past in the past.”

Bumbaca’s Prediction: Ohio State 21, Wisconsin 17

Again?! Yes, I pick a loss for the Badgers once again. But I’ve only been right once! So, that’s good news for Wisconsin fans, I suppose.

I think the defense will be just as stout as it was against Michigan. But quarterback J.T. Barrett is too versatile on the ground and through the air; the points will emerge from somewhere. It’s not a knock on the defense. It’s a universal law of the current state of college football.

Offensively, I see the Wisconsin running game slowly erupting. The linemen know they need to step up, and Clement is finally completely healthy — expect a few big ground gains to keep the Badgers’ offense moving.

Overall, the Buckeyes will be slightly too much for the Badgers to handle, but a 10.5 point spread for this game? Vegas with another insult at Wisconsin (easy money for my gamblers out there though). They’ll keep it closer than that.