\Quarterback Julian Sayin threw for a career high 394 yards and four touchdowns and the defense earned its second shutout of the season when No. 1 Ohio State defeated beleaguered Wisconsin 34-0 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
Sayin was lethal in the first half quarter when he completed 14 of 15 for 169 yards and touchdown passes of 33 and 10 to Carnell Tate for a 17-0 lead for the Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten).
He was 36 of 42 while Tate had six catches for 11 yards.
The Badgers (2-5, 0-4) have lost five straight and followed a 37-0 home loss to Iowa the previous game.
Battered Badgers
After a Wisconsin three-and-out to start the game, a shanked punt ended up bouncing for a 55-yard boot to the 11.
No problem. Sayin was brilliant on the 89-yard, nine-play, 4:34 drive as was Tate on a 33-yard touchdown catch for a 7-0 lead at 8:25.
Sayin was 8 for 8 for 94 yards.
Tate on second down had a catch for 15 in between short tosses to Jeremiah Smith. Klare had consecutive receptions for a total of 15 yards and Bo Jackson out of the backfield hauled in a ball for 16 yards to the 32.
After six straight passes, Jackson lost a yard and a false start made it second-and-16. Brandon Inniss gained back 5 with a catch but exited with a left leg injury. He would return.
Sayin then threw a perfect pass down the middle for Tate to go up between two defenders and bring it down before tumbling out of the back of the end zone.
Three plays after the kickoff, linebacker Sonny Styles intercepted hard-luck Hunter Simmons. His pass to running back Cade Yacamelli went off his facemask to Styles at the Wisconsin 48 and was returned to the 43.
But the Buckeyes had to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding to make it 10-0 at the 4:40 mark.
Sayin made completions of 6 yards to Jackson and 14 to Smith to run his totals to 10 for 10 for 115 yards but on the next throw to Smith in the end zone it was broken up by Ricardo Hallman.
On second down, Jackson made his third catch of the game, a 3-yarder to the 30, but Sayin was forced to scramble for no gain prior to the field goal.
A 52-yard Wisconsin punt to the 17 was returned 13 yards and the Buckeyes were on the march again.
CJ Donaldson Jr.’s first carry went for 15 yards. Sayin went back to Tate for 27 to the UW 30 before Donaldson’s catch gained 14 to the 16. After Jackson earned 6 yards on two carries, Tate caught a 10-yard TD at the left boundary to make it 17-0 with four seconds left in the quarter. The drive was 70 yards and six plays in 2:41.
Sayin in the quarter was 14 of 15 for 169 yards of the 187 total yards. UW had 34 yards.
The Badgers finally started to move and reached the OSU 34 on a 24-yard catch by Lance Mason. A 7-yard sack by Arvell Reese and a false helped end the threat and a 42-yard punt placed the ball at the 3.
OSU had a third-and-2 from its 23 when Donaldson lost a yard and Joe McGuire’s 42-yard punt was caught at the 36.
Wisconsin gave the ball back on a 62-yard punt by Sean West into the end zone.
The Buckeyes went quickly downfield but came up with nothing when Fielding sent a 38-yard FG attempt to the right.
Smith got catches of 10, 9 and 8 yards on consecutive plays to start the possession. Mylan Graham came off the bench to get a foot down along the right sideline to gain 10. After a false start, reserve freshman receiver Quincy Porter grabbed an 8-yarder and backup running back freshman Isaiah West ran for 14. Tight end Max Klare’s two receptions gained only 6 yards to the 20 and a third-down incompletion brought in Fielding for the miss with 1:07 left and the Badgers punted for the fifth time with four seconds remaining.
Sayin in the half was 23 of 26 for 235 yards while the Buckeyes managed just 18 rushing yards. Tate had 85 receiving yards on four catches and Smith had six catches for 52 yards. UW gained 69 yards, 49 of it passing.
Steady
The Buckeyes began from the 25 after the third quarter kickoff and moved rapidly in chunks but once failed to get into the end zone and relied on a Fielding 37-yard field goal to make it 20-0 with 8:42 to go.
Jackson made a catch for 16; Tate pulled in a 19-yarder on fourth-and-4 from the UW 43 and Tate gained another 7 on the next play but Jackson’s run lost 4 and false start made it 3-and-12. A catch by Inniss got 8 back but it wasn’t enough.
Later, the Buckeyes avoided punting deep in their territory when Smith got 14 yards on third down when they needed 15 to the 27. Smith was originally given a first down but a review showed his knee was down about a foot short. Sayin then sneaked for 2 yards.
Jackson caught a pass of 16 yards to the OSU 44. Porter had a 22-yard catch-and-run to the 27. Sayin took off and rushed for 8 and West ran for 15 to the 4 and followed with 2 more.
Sayin against a stacked line, tossed a 2-yard TD to open tight end Will Kacmarek for a 27-0 lead with 1:15 left in the third. The 13-play series went 83 yards in 6:21.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, the Badgers faced a fourth-and-19 from the 17 when the punter, Sean West, ran yards to the surprise of the Buckeyes. It was all for naught because had to punt again Sayin stayed in the game to throw a 26-yarder to Smith on the first play and culminated in a 13-yard scoring pass to Inniss with 5:19 to play.
