Ohio State finds a way to win once again in 24-10 victory over Wisconsin (2024)

MADISON, Wisc. — Saturday’s game at Camp Randall Stadium felt like every Ohio State game this season rolled into one.

Quarterback Kyle McCord made mistakes that you’d expect from a first-year starter — and then some. The defense did its part to keep the game close, allowing just three Badger points in the first half, and on the stat sheet, the Buckeyes dominated. But the game was uncomfortably close for the entirety, especially against an overmatched opponent.

Then, the Buckeyes made the plays they had to.

Marvin Harrison Jr. showed why he’s the best receiver in college football. The offense did enough to put the game away late. And most importantly, the defense got it together to keep the Buckeyes in the lead, as Ohio State found a way to grind out yet another win, 24-10, over a pesky Wisconsin team.

The Buckeyes are now 8-0 with four regular season games to play, and each time they have played, it’s been in grind-it-out fashion.

McCord has worst game of season

For weeks, McCord had flirted with disaster. Each week, he’d get away with some, if not all of it. Saturday, those errors caught up with him.

He finished 17 of 26 for 226 yards, but threw two interceptions and had key intentional grounding penalties in the second half to bring the offense to a halt. One of those penalties, which happened on a third down, took the Buckeyes out of potential field goal range.

McCord was limited by what appeared to be a left leg injury, and didn’t look comfortable in the pocket for the entire night. The stats weren’t as ugly as McCord’s on-field product looked. His performance certainly wasn’t one to look back on fondly.

Moving forward, it’s the same as it ever was with McCord: There are errors to clean up with his game, ones that could burn the Buckeyes in the near future if he’s not more careful.

First half gets messy

On paper, Ohio State had Wisconsin on the ropes in the first half.

The scoreboard, however, told a much different story.

The Buckeyes led just 10-3 at halftime. Statistically, it was a dominating first two quarters, but key errors (three of their first-half possessions ended in turnovers, one of which was on downs) kept it a one-possession game at the break.

McCord threw two interceptions, one of them - in the Wisconsin end zone - his ugliest interception of the year, as his decision-making was poor through the first two quarters. He ended the first half 10 of 19 with 140 yards passing with one touchdown.

Ohio State had the chance to put Wisconsin away in the first two quarters, or at least put the Badgers in some trouble, and the Buckeyes didn’t do it.

What it means

The Buckeyes have, for another week, won in a game that they had to grind out. As for if they can do this for the entire season and into a College Football Playoff? That remains to be seen.

First it was the win over Notre Dame, where they had to score on the final drive to get to 17 points. Then it was Maryland, where they had to rebound in the second half with a dominating performance. Then it was Penn State, where they won with 20 points on the back of their dominating defense.

In total, from games against Notre Dame, Maryland, Penn State and Wisconsin, the Buckeyes have scored 81 points. Each time, though, they’ve found a way to win.

The Buckeyes are now 8-0, and one look at their November schedule shows that the toughest part of the first 11 games are behind them. The schedule has now cleared for an 11-0 Ohio State team to travel to Ann Arbor on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

What’s next

Ohio State will head to New Jersey to play Rutgers to begin the final third of its schedule. The Buckeyes will end the season with a November slate that includes Rutgers, Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan.

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