The Buckeyes are certain they have found an identity with the return of Daniel "Boom" Herron and Mike Adams. The running game which features three backs has been strong over the course of the last two games and only seems to be building chemistry. 
Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde have been the feature backs early in the season, but Boom stepped in last week and basically was all of the OSU offense. The Buckeyes have had to take pressure off their young QB, and that has been a success over those two games. Now, with a physical defense and potent offense coming to the Shoe; the Bucks have to find a little more balance. No longer will pure power dominate the game, but Jim Bollman will surely continue to rely on the ground game to control the ball and the clock. The absence of the passing game against Illinois had many fans wondering what was going on. Surely the wind couldn't have been that big of an issue because Illinois continued to throw the ball quite a bit. Braxton had just come off a game (Nebraska) where he looked much better throwing the ball, and Philly Brown was a threat catching the ball. Jake Stoneburner had a big catch-and-run score on a TE screen that the Buckeye faitful has seen before, and not only has it worked well just about every time; but it seems to be Bollman's most 'risky' playcall. The passing game seemed to start taking shape...then Bauserman came in. Joe Bauserman threw 1-10 for an interception and took much of the blame for the Buckeye's historic flop. Fans were in an uproar over how Bollman went away from an effective rushing attack and leaned on a cold, unproven quarterback who many think should be #3 or 4 on the depth chart. Bollman hears 'pass less' being yelled by fans all week, so what does he do? He passes less...for a total of 4 times in a game that many expected the Buckeyes to lose. Not only did they not lose, but they just physically dominated a previously undefeated team. Was this a good gameplan or just athletic domination? I would have to think the latter since the passing game had just looked so much better in the previous week. It wasn't an erratic Braxton Miller that pushed them into a run-based offense because he wasn't even given the chance to throw the ball. Maybe Bollman saw something during pre-game that caused him to go ultra-conservative, and it was reported that Braxton struggled to push off that back foot on passes; but there's no excuses to only complete 1 pass and only have 4 attempts. Braxton is better than that, but now we move on to a new week; and this week means everything.
The Buckeye players sat at home and watched as their next opponent, rival, and most dominant team in the Big 10 this season lost in a heart-breaker. Their perfect season was denied by mere inches with the aid of instant replay. They don't sting much more than that, but now the Badgers are in rebound mode. As they role into the Shoe this Saturday, they will surely look to avoid a slow start. The Badgers need to do what they did last year against the Buckeyes in starting off fast to avoid slumping and giving the ball to a team looking to slow the game and burn the clock. The Buckeye's strategy will most likely be the usual run the ball, avoid turnovers, and work field position; but could we possibly see something else? We've been waiting to see Jordan Hall in the slot all year, and Fickell said they had a plan for all three RB's. This is the game where there's nothing to hold back, but I would assume Bollman will stick to the basics. I would expect to see more passing attempts than 4, but I guess I haven't seen the weather forecast either.
Check back later this week as I will have more on the Buckeyes/Wisconsin matchup which will include a motivating post. Fickell said he hopes the fans are ready for this weekend, so I want to help us get ready.
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Go Bucks!
