The Ohio State football team opens Big Ten conference play at home against Wisconsin this Saturday. This showdown will be the third primetime matchup for the Buckeyes in its first four games.

Last week, the Ohio State offense was clicking on all cylinders en route to a 77-21 victory over Toledo. The Buckeyes racked up 763 yards of total offense, which was good for second in program history. The performance lifted Ohio State back to being the top offense in the country averaging 8.44 yards per play and 563.3 yard per game. 

Wisconsin is not off to the start it anticipated this season. The Badgers dropped a game at home against Washington State as seventeen-point favorites. Quarterback Graham Mertz is off to an efficient start to the season, though. He’s completing 71% of his passes and thrown for 697 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Mertz will need one of his most productive starts to hang with the Buckeyes. 

If the Badgers can use the run to open up the pass or the pass to open up the run and become balanced, it could pose problems for Ohio State. Wisconsin needs to find ways to create adversity. The Badgers can do so by keeping the Ohio State offense off the field in order to pull the upset. 

CJ Stroud has been playing phenomenal football this year and is extremely precise in the passing game. The offense is now at full strength, as they put up 77 last week. I don’t see any signs of the Buckeyes slowing down despite Wisconsin having a stout defense. However, I do not think it can contain Ohio State’s firepower. 

Marvin Harrison Jr has had an exceptional start to the season, stepping up for the injured Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The sophomore has been one of the surprise players in the country so far and will look to continue his hot start against the Badgers. Miyan Williams has also come on strong this season. He runs with powerful force and always falls forward through tackles ensuring positive yardage. 

On the flip side, it will be strength on strength with Wisconsin’s offense and Braelon Allen running football versus the front seven of Ohio State’s defense, which has been their strength all year. The unit is the catalyst in getting this defense back on track. 

Saturday’s matchup will be Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles’ first experience in Big Ten play. Conference play requires a different style of coaching and schematic approach, so this will be a significant learning game for the Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes’ response and output will illustrate how much progress the unit has made over the last nine months.

In the end, I do not think Wisconsin will be able to do creatively enough to stretch the field vertically in the passing game, so I like the Buckeyes to win and cover the 18.5.