Ohio State vs. Wisconsin: Score and Twitter Reaction

No. 2 Ohio State overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and then survived in overtime to earn a 30-23 road win Saturday over No. 8 Wisconsin.

Tied at 23-23 after regulation, the Buckeyes got the ball first in overtime and scored easily as J.T. Barrett found Noah Brown on a seven-yard touchdown to go up seven points. While the Badgers got to the 4-yard line on the ensuing drive, a Tyquan Lewis sack on fourth down sealed the win for Ohio State.

Head coach Urban Meyer moved to 20-0 in true road games as the Buckeyes remained undefeated at 6-0.

Skip Bayless of Fox Sports believes this is the best team in college football:

Barrett was a star with his legs as usual, compiling 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go with his 226 passing yards. 

He also set a school record with the 89th touchdown in his career, according to ESPN College Football. 

Corey Clement was big on the ground for Wisconsin to keep the game close, finishing with 164 rushing yards on 25 carries. Jazz Peavy was also valuable as both a receiver and a runner on jet sweeps, ending the night with 70 rushing yards and 76 receiving yards.

Alex Hornibrook was steady under center for the Badgers, totaling 214 yards and a touchdown, but he couldn't do enough to get the victory.

Still, the Badgers showed they are formidable even in defeat, as Bleacher Report's Ian Wharton argued: 

Wisconsin finished with more total yards, 450-411, but it fell short in overtime and dropped to 4-2. 

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The home team came out with a lot of energy early, shutting down Ohio State's fast-paced offense and forcing punts on the first couple of drives.

Dan Wolken of USA Today noted what everyone else watching along had realized:

Wisconsin had a lot more success offensively in the early going, moving methodically down the field for a field goal on its first drive. The squad had bad field position on the second possession but made up for it thanks to this 68-yard run by Clement:

The running back fumbled at the end, but the Badgers kept the ball. They then built on the momentum with a touchdown three plays later from Hornibrook to Peavy.

Although Ohio State responded with a field goal, Wisconsin couldn't have asked for a better start than a 10-3 lead after the first quarter. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports summed up the action:

The teams traded field goals in the second quarter after long drives deep into opponent territory. Wisconsin then put another three on the board thanks to a strong two-minute drill before the end of the half, securing a 16-6 lead at intermission.

The Badgers offense was impressive with 313 yards in the first half, which caught the attention of Michigan defender Jabrill Peppers:

They only had 159 total yards against the Wolverines in the previous contest. Still, there was concern about their inability to get into the end zone. Nicole Auerbach of USA Today provided her thoughts going into halftime:

The inability to extend the lead became a problem quickly as the Buckeyes started to make their move in the second half.

Ohio State appeared ready to cut the lead early in the third quarter with its best offensive movement on the day, but Barrett threw an interception in the end zone during a period of heavy rain.

Jesse Temple of ESPN thought highly of the play:

The Buckeyes were finally able to get into the end zone on their next drive, which was by far the best of the day to that point. The visitors took 13 plays to travel 47 yards, including two fourth-down conversions.

Barrett capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run to help cut the lead to 16-13.

The momentum continued to shift toward the Buckeyes with a bad interception from Hornibrook, as described by Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated:

Once again, Barrett led Ohio State down the field and eventually scored when he called his own number on an eight-yard touchdown run.

The Heisman candidate showed impressive elusiveness on the score:

However, Wisconsin proved it was too good to just give up, down 20-16. The squad answered with an 11-play, 81-yard drive ending with an Austin Ramesh four-yard touchdown up the middle.

The Buckeyes followed it up with a game-tying field goal, creating a 23-23 showdown with 3:57 remaining. After Wisconsin's drive to win was stopped short, the game headed to overtime.

Ohio State started things off on offense and scored right away with a touchdown pass from Barrett to Brown. The Badgers then couldn't answer as Hornibrook took a sack on fourth down, something Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders questioned:

The Buckeyes proved to be slightly better as they pulled out a win on the road, keeping their dreams of a national title alive.

Ohio State will go on the road again next Saturday with a matchup against Penn State. Like Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions will have some extra preparation after coming off a bye week.

The Badgers finally ended their turn against the Big Ten East division and will now finish the year with six games in a row against the West division. The potential run to the conference title game starts with a road game against Iowa on Oct. 22.

Postgame Reaction

Meyer was complimentary of his opponent after the win, per B/R's Ben Axelrod:

From the other perspective, Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst wasn't happy with a moral victory, per Zach Heilprin of The Zone Madison:

Both teams should be happy with the effort put forth in the game, but only the Buckeyes came up with the win.

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