It’s an even bigger one that what we saw in round one when Ohio State and Wisconsin matched up. That’s because this one is for a title and some hardware that’ll go in one of the two team’s trophy case.
We worked with one or our sister sites Badgers Wire on a Q&A on the game. We’re always interested in the perspective of the opposing team, and Matt Zemek gives us that as he did the first time around when the Badgers and Buckeyes tussled in Columbus.
If you’re a Wisconsin Badgers fan, we encourage you to give Badgers Wire a follow, bookmark the website. There’s a ton of good stuff going on over there, and they are good people.
But we digress. We lobbed four questions over Zemek, and here’s how it went.
Next … How is the rematch going to be different?
How is the rematch to likely be different than the first game?
The aspect of this game which we know will be different is the weather. Jack Coan struggled with a wet ball in late October. He has improved late in the season, and now he will throw in climate-controlled conditions. The problem for Wisconsin: Justin Fields gets that same benefit.
Neither Wisconsin nor Ohio State threw the ball especially well in Columbus. Both passing games should be better in this game. Wisconsin has to make its passing game improve to a significant extent, and minimize the improvements Ohio State will make.
Next … What development since last game should give Wisconsin hope?
What are some developments since the Oct. 26 game which should make Wisconsin the most confident about Saturday?
Jack Coan playing great at Minnesota is the plot twist which makes this game feel winnable for Wisconsin. This is the version of Coan which can move the sticks on third down and keep Ohio State’s offense off the field.
Wisconsin needs at least 37 minutes of possession to win this game, or at least, that should be a target for Paul Chyrst and Company. If last week’s version of Coan shows up, the Badgers can hit that target.
Next … What development since last game should concern Wisconsin?
What are some developments since the Oct. 26 game which should have the Badgers feeling the most concerned?
Ohio State’s win over Penn State should make Wisconsin very worried. OSU crushing Michigan is nothing new. The Penn State game shows how slim the margins are for the Badgers in Indianapolis. Ohio State gave away three turnovers, one of them at the goal line.
The Buckeyes’ receivers didn’t win a number of contested catches, which is a rarity since their receivers are usually wide open due to their skill level or the staff’s play design (or both).
It didn’t matter.
Ohio State won by 11 points in a game it probably should have won by 25.
If that is as bad as Ohio State can play, and it still wins by 11, what escape route does Wisconsin have?
Next … A post-axe letdown?
Should Wisconsin be concerned about a post-Minnesota letdown?
I don’t know if this qualifies as a “letdown,” but I do think that Wisconsin played such an excellent game against the Golden Gophers that the idea of UW playing yet another excellent game in a consecutive week might be a hard feat to achieve. I don’t think Ohio State playing excellent two weeks in a row is hard for the Buckeyes.
The Badgers played weak opposition in the first half of their season (Michigan was not good when UW played the Wolverines).
Wisconsin beating quality opposition in two straight non-home games (one road, one neutral site) has not yet happened this season. The odds are highly stacked against the Badgers.
