Deuces Wild at Camp Randall

Madison, Wisconsin has been the scene for many Buckeye nightmares over the years, and it looked like the Badgers were about the write another chapter in a story OSU fans know too well. Leading 17-13 late in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin was on the cup of extending their 16-game home winning streak and severely damaging Ohio State's chances of repeating as Big Ten champions.

Uber-freshman Terrelle Pryor, who mouthed off a bit earlier in the week, needed to lead OSU down the field for a TD to take the lead. Jim Tressel's favorite play, the field goal attempt, would be not be good enough. Throughout the game, Pryor looked uncomfortable in the passing game. Time was running short and this was his chance to really start his legacy, or to further bury a disappointing season.


And the kid came through in a big way. He marched the Buckeyes down the field, mixing run and pass plays, and punching it in himself for the go-ahead score. It wasn't a textbook drive - there were drops, penalties and some plays for loss that wouldn't cut it in a true two-minute drill. But on this night, in one of the toughest places to play in the country, Pryor cemented the start of his era by authoring a great comeback. The 20-17 win was sealed by the #2 on the roster, All-American CB Malcolm Jenkins.

The game didn't really have a lot of surprises. Pryor showed off some smooth running moves and some equally uneven passing skills. He took some bad sacks and his throws seem to float at inopportune times. Beanie Wells was a monster, breaking off two long runs en route to 168-yard day. Despite a lot of jugging, the offensive line showed some improvement. The wide receivers cannot be graded, as they saw very little action all night. Fans waiting for Pryor to morph into a passing version of Troy Smith will need to be patient, because it's not happening in 2008.

On the defensive side, my initial reaction is B to B-. There was actually some pressure from the front four, which has been a source of frustration thus far. The interior of the line struggled at times to stop Badger backs PJ Hill and John Clay, who successfully ran behind their gigantic offensive line. But hey, a lot of teams struggle against Wisconsin in that phase. The defensive backs were generally underwhelming outside of Jenkins. Corners Chimdi Chekwa and Donald Washington looked behind in coverage, and safeties Anderson Russell and Kurt Coleman don't seem able to create plays. But 17 points against a talented team on the road certainly isn't a poor performance.

Next up for Ohio State is a date at home with Purdue on Saturday. After a home loss against Penn State this weekend, the Boilermakers dropped to 2-3. Their only wins were against Northern Colorado and Central Michigan.