COLUMBUS, Ohio _ J.K. Dobbins and Chase Young share the same No. 2 uniform number for Ohio State. Wisconsin will be seeing that pair of deuces in their nightmares for a while.
Dobbins ran through the Badgers' defense and Young terrorized their offense in the No. 3 Buckeyes' 38-7 victory in front of 102,998 rain-soaked fans at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
No. 13 Wisconsin was supposed to give Ohio State its toughest test of the season, and for most of the first half, the Badgers did.
But then the Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten), led by Dobbins and Young, overwhelmed them. Dobbins ran for 163 yards in 20 carries and two touchdowns and added 58 receiving yards as he, aided by Ohio State's powerful offensive line, got the better of his star counterpart, Jonathan Taylor. The Wisconsin junior was held to 52 yards in 20 carries.
Young tied an OSU record with four sacks, two of which resulted in fumbles recovered by the Buckeyes. The only touchdown Ohio State allowed came early in the second half after Wisconsin blocked a punt and took over at the Buckeyes' 30 yard line.
Ohio State outgained Wisconsin 431-191.
The Buckeyes' offensive explosion came after a mostly quiet first half. The game was scoreless for the first 25 minutes as Ohio State coach Ryan Day's play-calling was conservative in the rain. Quarterback Justin Fields didn't attempt a pass until the final minute of the first quarter, and drops on some of his first throws could explain why.
Wisconsin (6-2, 3-2) didn't have any more success. The Buckeyes bottled up star running back Taylor, who gained only 25 yards in 12 first-half carries and quarterback Jack Coan threw for only 26 yards in the first 30 minutes.
Ohio State finally broke the stalemate late in the second quarter. Ohio State drove to the Wisconsin before a sack and holding penalty moved the Buckeyes backward. Blake Haubeil, who made a 55-yard field goal last week at Northwestern, connected on a 49-yarder to give Ohio State a 3-0 lead.
The Buckeyes forced a punt on Wisconsin's next possession and took over at their 15-yard line with 2:37 left. Dobbins ran for 17 yards to open the drive and Fields scrambled for 21. On third-and-5, Olave got open down the seam for a 27-yard touchdown catch with 43 seconds left for a 10-0 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes got the ball to start the second half, but instead of extending their lead, they gave Wisconsin its first opening. The Buckeyes went three-and-out, and Alexander Smith got his fingers on Drue Chrisman's punt, causing it to go only 13 yards to the 30.
On third down, Coan threw to A.J. Taylor, who caught the ball in traffic for a 26-yard touchdown to cut Ohio State's lead to 10-7.
It was all Buckeyes after that. Fields completed two passes to Olave and then Dobbins ran for 28 yards to set up a Fields 10-yard touchdown run.
After another defensive stop, Ohio State scored quickly again, with Dobbins going 34 and 9 yards on the final two carries for a 24-7 lead.
Wisconsin drove to the Ohio State 32 on its next possession. On fourth down, Young knocked the ball from Coan and the Buckeyes took over.
Dobbins did the heavy lifting on a 55-yard touchdown driving, scoring on a 14-yard run to make it 31-7. Young got his final big play on the next Wisconsin drive, knocking the ball free from Coan again. Linebacker Pete Werner returned the ball 31 yards.
Eight plays later, Fields threw to Olave for a 4-yard score to account for the game's final points.
