Holt:
Eventually, Bret Bielema has to beat a top-10 team. This year’s Badger squad has the talent to do it, and while its showing at Michigan State might not have indicated, the drive to do it too.
So when the Buckeyes come to Madison Saturday night, maybe Badger fans can expect an upset. Jim Tressel is just 4-3 against Wisconsin, and his Buckeye teams have never scored more than 20 points in Camp Randall.
Scott Tolzien and his offense dominated OSU last season, outgaining the Buckeyes 368-184 and making 22 first downs to eight for ‘Ol Sweater Vest. Of course, Ohio State got two pick-sixes and a kick return for a touchdown, rendering that domination moot in the end.
The Wisconsin defense isn’t better this year, and the offense is pretty much the same. So what’s going to be the difference this year?
James White.
UW’s freshman phenom is the opposite of the backs the Badgers have employed since Bielema took over. He’s a fast, shifty runner who can cut it to the outside and take it to the house.
No slight on John Clay, who is a workhorse of a back and can bruise it between the tackles like nobody else in the country. But Clay was held to 66 yards rushing in last season’s matchup. Maybe he makes a statement Saturday and breaks his trend of being bottled up against good teams. But if he does, you can at least partially credit White.
UW’s new favorite Floridian adds another dimension to the Wisconsin offense and is fast enough to give even a speedy Ohio State defense some fits. At the very least, it’s one more thing for the Buckeyes to think about.
White and Clay face a tall task against the No. 1 team in the nation. But if this truly is going to be a special season for Wisconsin, it’s going to take a special effort to get this upset victory. White’s speed could be the one extra advantage UW needs to finally get over the hump.
Fiammetta:
I heard this rumor the other day that Terrelle Pryor has really, really sensitive ears. And it’s gonna be loud in Camp Randall Saturday night. So that’s why the Buckeyes will lose.
Just kidding. About that first part, I mean.
What I am serious about, though, is that Camp Randall will be rocking. Or, at least, it better be. College Gameday will be here in the morning – you know, that pregame show with the old guy who always puts on those funky mascot heads, that guy with the bleached-blonde hair and some chick named Erin Andrews – it’s the only night game of the year and it’s the first time Bucky hosts the nation’s No. 1 team since 1997. Not to mention it’s Wisconsin-Ohio State, and Big Ten title implications could be at stake.
The ever-crafty student section is also at it once again, utilizing those social networking skills to get a “James WHITE OUT” going. As of Tuesday night, more than 6,300 of Bucky’s most faithful have marked their interest in holding up a white piece of paper every time White gets the ball to, you guessed it, temporarily “white out” the student section. That student section, so crafty. What will they think of next?
Obviously, Ohio State’s used to playing in their Horseshoe, which seats more than 100,000 Buckeye fans. That’s fine and dandy, but while Camp Randall seats only (only?) 80,321 people, the loud, lewd, lively student section makes up for it. Coupled with the tendency for Bielema’s Boys to play ‘Ol Sweater Vest tight – OSU is 4-2 against UW under Tressel, but holds only a 30-point combined margin of victory – the homefield advantage Wisconsin will have Saturday night could very well carry them to the upset.
