Ohio State/Wisconsin: What We Learned

It's easy to get swept away with admiration for Pryor, but his game against Wisconsin was far from perfect. After leading Ohio State down the field for his third consecutive first-series touchdown (which is impressive and should be noted), Pryor killed a productive Buckeye drive when he lobbed a pass down the sideline towards Brandon Saine that was intercepted.

Up to that point, Ohio State was unstoppable, and at the time it was a game-changing play. It gave Wisconsin some confidence (forget the fact that Wisconsin quickly punted the ball back to Ohio State), and it derailed Ohio State's offense for the rest of the half.

Pryor also let his inexperience show repeatedly against Wisconsin. The box score will show you that Pryor had 15 carries for 20 yards, but this is very misleading. Pryor had 57 positive rushing yards, and -37 yards being tackled for loss. Too often Pryor would spend all day in the pocket looking for an open receiver, checking from one covered receiver to the next (as he's been taught), but would then be pressured.

Instead of throwing the ball out of bounds and accepting a 0-yard loss, Pryor would use his mobility and strength to intentionally keep the play alive in hopes that a receiver would get open. Time after time, however, the receivers did not open up, and Pryor would run sideways and backwards before being sacked for a loss.

Pryor is an exceptional athlete, he holds the team together and presents a seemingly endless number of options for the offense, but he is still a freshman. He makes mistakes, and while against Wisconsin he was able to keep his cool and recover from these mistakes, he will continue to make mistakes.

Ohio State fans can be pleased with his performance so far, but he is not Troy Smith or Vince Young (yet)—he is a freshman, still learning how to execute Ohio State's offense at Big Ten speed.

- The absence of the Wisconsin marching band was significant.

Before the game, I silently wondered what effect the band's absence would have on the game. After contemplation, I deemed it relevant, and a decided advantage for the Buckeyes, and I was right.

Camp Randall is not a fun place to play, especially at night, but not because Wisconsin players historically like to sleep in and are more well-rested. It's tough to play at Camp Randall because the atmosphere is historically electric (there's a reason Wisconsin hadn't lost at home in three years). In my opinion, last night's environment was the least-electric and intimidating I've ever witnessed at a Wisconsin home game.

The commentators pointed it out in the first half, but even in the second half the crowd was noticeably quieter than usual. I blame this not on the crowd (Camp Randall Stadium was 1,000 people over capacity), but rather on the absence of the band.

The band is supposed to be there to get the fans back in the game after a bad play or for an important defensive stop. Wisconsin fans really seemed lost without their band, I just don't know how else to say it. 

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