COLUMBUS, Ohio. – The Wisconsin Badgers lost to Ohio State, 33-29, in the final seconds Saturday for their second straight heartbreaking loss. This time it was Braxton Miller heaving a 40-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith to put the Buckeyes up by four points with :20 seconds remaining in the game. If the Michigan State loss was hard to swallow for Badger fans, Wisconsin nation is collectively choking right now. Compound a 24-3 Michigan State loss to a Husker team that the Badgers dismantled earlier this season makes things worse. With the loss, the #15 ranked Badgers move their record to 6-2 on the season and 2-2 in their division.
Trailing 26-14 with 4:39 remaining on the game clock, Russell Wilson and company were facing their second straight two-score deficit to a Big 10 opponent on the road in the last two weeks. The Badgers would not go down without a fight, much like last week in East Lansing when the Badgers were down 14 points, only to comeback and then lose on the final play of the game. This time, Montae Ball scampered 40 yards on second down that set-up the Badgers next play. Russell Wilson then found Jared Abbrederis for a 17-yard touchdown, cutting the Badgers deficit to five points, 26-21 with 3:48 remaining on the clock. The Wisconsin drive took just four plays, traveling 66 yards in forty-four seconds.
A huge Buckeyes three and out set the stage for Wisconsin to salvage their season and game. On the fourth play of the drive, Russell Wilson hit the replay button, as he found Jared Abbrederis once again for the go-ahead touchdown score. It was a 49-yard pass from Wilson, as Wisconsin took the one point lead with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter. The Badgers elected to go for the two-point conversion and were successful as Wilson pitched the football to Montae Ball for the two pointer and 29-26 Badger lead. Wisconsin took just 1:18 to score, driving 67 yards on five plays. If anything, Wisconsin scored too fast for the second straight week. This would set-up Braxton Miller and his Ohio State teammates for an instant classic.
Wisconsin looked like they were ready to avenge last week’s loss as they drove down the field for a touchdown on just their second possession of the game. Russell Wilson hooked up with Montae Ball for a 22-yard touchdown strike to give the Badgers an early 7-0 lead. It took Wisconsin eight plays to travel 69 yards in just over three minutes.
Ohio State finally got on the scoreboard with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half, when Drew Basil kicked a 39-yard field goal to cut the deficit, 7-3 in favor of Wisconsin. That would be all the scoring for both teams in the first half, as the Badgers were held to a season-low 10 total rush yards. Regardless, the Badgers entered the locker room leading by four points after both teams combined to score 10 total first half points.
Dan Herron opened up the second half with a 57-yard first down run on the very first play from scrimmage. Braxton Miller concluded the opening drive with a 1-yard plunge to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the game, 10-7. Ohio State drove 75 yards in seven plays, as they used just under three minutes on the game clock.
Another week and another Wisconsin blocked punt that led to a game-changing score for the opposition. This week, it was Ohio State’s Melvin Fellows who blocked Brad Nortman’s punt. It would set Ohio State up for their second straight touchdown score. Three plays later, Jordan Hall rushed in for the 2-yard TD and 17-7 Buckeye lead with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter.
After a muffed punt recovery by the Badgers following their three and out, Wisconsin finally answered with a score of their own in the third quarter. Montae Ball plunged into the endzone from a yard out for the score, cutting the Badgers deficit to three points, 17-14.
Following Basil’s second field goal of the game to give Ohio State a 20-14 lead, the Badgers offense sputtered. After another Wisconsin three and out, Ohio State responded with another touchdown pass by Braxton Miller. The freshman quarterback found Jordan Hall in the endzone from 2 yards out to put the Buckeyes up, 26-14. Ohio State failed on a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the Badgers deficit at just 12 points with 4:39 remaining in the game.
Next week the Wisconsin Badgers (6-2, 2-2) return home to Camp Randall where they will face the Purdue Boilermakers (4-4) for a 11:00 a.m. start time. The Badgers now need help from the rest of the Big 10 Conference, if they hope to play in the Big 10 Championship Game. Penn State is now all alone atop the Leaders Division with a 7-1 overall mark and 4-0 conference record. Penn State is set to travel to Madison on the final game of the Big 10 regular season on November 26. If Penn State loses a game and the Badgers win-out the rest of the way, the two will be matched up for a winner-take-all showdown at Camp Randall. First things first however, Wisconsin now needs the help of others around them and are no longer in control of their own destiny. It almost seems unfair that the Badgers have lost all hope of a BCS National Championship berth and Big 10 Conference Championship because of two plays that seemed completely out of their control. Truly, destiny is not on the side of the Badgers in 2011.
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