On Monday, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer called his team’s opponent Saturday a ‘typical Wisconsin’ team.
It was meant as a compliment, of course. The Badgers are who they are and they don’t change their style for anybody. Despite some recent coaching turnover, Wisconsin has remained the same. The Badgers play a grind-it-out style on offense and have a tough, physical defense. It's always been that way.
But if you were expecting Ohio State to change at all heading into Saturday’s showdown between the pair of top-10 teams, well, prepare to be disappointed. The Buckeyes don’t plan on changing either in this big-time matchup, especially on offense.
There will be some minor tweaks, sure, but expect Ohio State to try and do what it normally does, too.
“They’re going to stack the box, but we’re still going to do what we do. We’re not going to shy away because they put people in the box,” Buckeyes junior H-back Curtis Samuel said after Wednesday’s practice. “If they’re going to put people in the box, we’re just going to run it right down their throat and do what we’ve gotta do out there.”
And, to be fair, why would Ohio State’s offense change much?
Sure, Wisconsin has the 11th-ranked defense in the country (291.4 yards per game) and the Big Ten’s top-ranked run defense (90.4 ypg.), but the Buckeyes are pretty potent on offense themselves.
Ohio State is going to come out like it always does and try to establish a punishing ground game and go from there.
“We’re not going to change nothing that we do,” Samuel said.
The Buckeyes are at their best when they’re playing fast with a balanced attack. Meyer said that’s certainly something his offense is going to try and establish Saturday, despite facing a more-than-capable opponent.
“I’d say we’ve had good conversations about tempo,” Meyer said. “That certainly is part of our game plan.”
Through the first four games of the season, Ohio State looked nearly flawless. The Buckeyes averaged 57 points per game while averaging 576.2 yards per game as they exploded to a 4-0 start to the season.
But Ohio State's offense looked somewhat human its last time out as the Buckeyes scored 38 points and had just 383 yards of total offense. In particular, it was Ohio State's passing game that struggled as quarterback J.T. Barrett threw for just 93 yards.
Those slight concerns in the passing game have been discussed plenty already this week and the Buckeyes insist it was only a slight hiccup in what's been a pretty impressive offense all year. Barrett says he'll be fine; Meyer agreed.
Ohio State knows Saturday will be a challenge, but it's one the Buckeyes certainly seem up for.
“I think Wisconsin is very talented defensively, they have a good scheme, they’re well-coached and they play really hard," co-offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. "It’s going to be a challenge for our guys, but I think they’re up to it.
"The key to us right now is just continuing to get better, keep grinding away. Just be better than you were the day before and be better than we were the week before and we obviously have to do that this week.”
There will be big plays and big hits. Just don't expect to see anything out of the ordinary.
