Proof Points From Ohio State’s Dominant, Shutout Win at Wisconsin, Presented by High Bank Distillery

By Josh Poloha on October 18, 2025 at 8:28 pm
Julian Sayin
Jeff Hanisch – Imagn Images
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It was dominance on both sides of the ball for Ohio State against the Down Bad Badgers.

High Bank Distillery Co.
Presented by High Bank Distillery Co.

The Buckeyes took care of business in Madison, which was expected, but even then, they still showed plenty of greatness in their 34-0 shutout win over Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.

In a game that Ohio State controlled from start to finish, it was yet another dominant showing by the top-ranked, undefeated Buckeyes. OSU converted 5-of-11 third downs, was a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions and outgained the Badgers, 491-144.

Let's take a look at some Proof Points from Ohio State's shutout win at Wisconsin to advance to 7-0 on the season:

Julian Sayin Throws For 393 Yards and Four Touchdowns

Seven games into his career as a starter, Sayin had a career day for the Buckeyes on Saturday. The redshirt freshman completed 36 of 42 passes for 394 yards and four touchdowns, numbers that haven't been seen in a few years for Ohio State.

In the first quarter alone, Sayin threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns while completing 14 of 15 passes. By halftime, the gunslinger had completed 23 of 26 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. To put that in perspective, Sayin's previous career-high was 25 completions. He averaged 20 completions per game in the first six games of the season.

He had plenty of brilliant throws, but two stick out in particular: A 33-yard touchdown to Carnell Tate – one in which the wideout made a spectacular catch – and a 13-yard touchdown to Brandon Inniss, one in which Sayin moves out of the pocket and then throws an absolute dart to Innis in the back of the end zone.

Ohio State's Defense Holds Wisconsin to Zero Points, 144 Yards

For the seventh time so far this season, the Silver Bullets proved to be elite – again.

The Buckeyes' defense was all over the field in Madison on Saturday, as Ohio State's defense secured its second shutout of the season, with help from its second-team defense on the last drive of the game.

Much like it has been all season on that side of the ball, it was a total team effort for the Silver Bullets. Sonny Styles secured his first interception of his career.

Wisconsin had only 144 yards of offense, including just 49 passing yards, and OSU had three sacks to go with seven tackles for loss. Caleb Downs led the way with six tackles, while 10 Buckeyes had multiple tackles in the game.

Through seven games this season, Ohio State's defense has only allowed 41 points, good for 5.8 points allowed per game.

Carnell Tate Notches 111 Yards and Two Touchdowns

In 28 games during his first two years as a Buckeye, Tate had just one 100-yard game (102 receiving yards vs. Nebraska on Oct. 26, 2024). After totaling six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns against Wisconsin, the junior has now done so three times just seven games into this season.

While it wasn't one of his trademarked sideline toe drags, Tate had an incredible catch on his first touchdown of the game, a 33-yard connection with Sayin, arguably the best touchdown catch of his career to date.

One thing seems to be clear after Tate's impressive performance on Saturday: Jeremiah Smith is the best offensive player in college football, and Tate would be WR1 on any other team in the country besides Ohio State.

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