Sunday, October 03, 1999
Wisconsin 42, Ohio State 17
Cooper calls it 'old-fashioned butt-kicking'
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — This is the most telling picture of Ohio State football in the century's final year: Four scarlet-clad defenders lying on their backsides, flattened by Wisconsin's bruising offensive line, watching the man they were supposed to tackle bulldoze his way into the end zone.
As Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne and his linemen pushed their way over the Buckeyes for a touchdown in Saturday's 42-17 whipping of No.12 OSU at Ohio Stadium, it was not only the eventual winning score but a snapshot of Ohio State's season.
This was, as Buckeye coach John Cooper said, “a good-old fashioned butt-kicking.
“It's been a long time,” Cooper said, “been a long time since we were physically whipped like that.”
“I've never been blown out like that,” said Buckeye senior offensive tackle Tyson Walter. “It's an embarrassment — to the players, the coaches, our families, the organization.”
The loss, like Michael Wiley's fumble to begin the second half that sparked a chain reaction as the Buckeyes fell apart, could be catastrophic.
At 3-2 overall and 0-1 in
the Big Ten, Ohio State would have to win its remaining three home games and at least one of its four road games (they play at Minnesota, No.14 Michigan State, No.2 Penn State and No.4 Michigan) to even be eligible for a bowl.
Because the Bucks play 12 games, they must win at least seven.
“The reality is we're Ohio State; we're going to be good; we're going to win,” Walter said, displaying the kind of arrogance that has left the Buckeyes vulnerable to teams they were favored to beat.
“Expectations at Ohio State are always going to be high,” said guard Ben Gilbert. “We should have never lost a game like this. We know that. No offense to Wisconsin, but overall, we're a better team. We just didn't prove it.”
The Buckeyes can talk all they want, but the reality is that Wisconsin was better Saturday and Ohio State isn't as good as it was expected to be.
The defense can't stop the run or the pass consistently; the offense can't sustain drives or hold on to the ball, and its only success comes on big plays.
Ohio State began to crack at the end of the first half when Wisconsin drove 78 yards to set up a field goal. The Buckeyes then unraveled to begin the second half when Wiley fumbled the opening kickoff deep in Wisconsin territory. Earlier, the all-Big Ten tailback had fumbled on a dive into the end zone, nixing a probable touchdown.
Beginning with the field goal just before halftime, the Badgers (3-2, 1-1) scored 42 straight points on eight consecutive possessions to close out the game. They outgained Ohio State 463 yards to 351, with 305 coming on the ground.
“Obviously, we're not playing good defense,” Cooper said in an understatement.
Dayne, held to 36 yards in the first half, finished with 161 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries. Freshman quarterback Brooks Bollinger, pressed into the start because Scott Kavanagh was out with an elbow injury, ran for 78 yards and passed for 167 yards.
“We challenged guys to stiffen up,” Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. “The kids made plays and kept the ball away from Ohio State.”
Ohio State, meanwhile, began to crack at the end of the first half, when Wisconsin drove 78 yards to score. The Buckeyes then unraveled to begin the second half when Wiley fumbled the opening kickoff deep in Wisconsin territory.
When the Badgers' domina tion began, it was puzzling, because Ohio State had outplayed and outgained them in the first half. But as the game wore on, it was apparent the smashing was no aberration on either side of the ball. OSU had just 113 yards in the second half, while Wisconsin piled up 286.
“I'm not sure what happened,” said receiver Reggie Germany. “We had some costly penalties, and turnovers we didn't need. If we'd have stayed away from that, I think we would have been successful.”
Wisconsin ....... 0 6 12 24—42
Ohio St. ....... 7 10 0 0—17
First Quarter
OSU—Wiley 1 run (Stultz kick), 2:36
Second Quarter
OSU—FG Stultz 35, 14:15
OSU—Germany 40 pass from Bellisari (Stultz kick), 10:23
Wis—FG Pisetsky 42, 5:05
Wis—FG Pisetsky 25, :00
Third Quarter
Wis—Dayne 3 run (pass failed), 14:21
Wis—Dayne 11 run (pass failed), 10:31
Fourth Quarter
Wis—FG Pisetsky 27, 13:37
Wis—Dayne 1 run (Pisetsky kick), 8:26
Wis—Faulkner 1 run (Pisetsky kick), 3:44
Wis—Dayne 2 run (Pisetsky kick), 3:16
A—93,524
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Wisconsin, Dayne 32-161, Bollinger 17-78, Faulkner 7-30, Bennett 4-27. Ohio St., Bellisari 15-52, Wiley 9-36, Rambo 1-22, Martin 3-15, Keller 1-6, Wells 4-(minus 7).
PASSING—Wisconsin, Bollinger 15-27-0-167. Ohio St., Bellisari 10-24-1-210, Wiley 1-1-0-17.
RECEIVING—Wisconsin, Chambers 4-41, Kuhns 3-51, Davis 3-29, Retzlaff 3-26, Merritt 1-17, D.Brown 1-3. Ohio St., Germany 3-81, Rambo 3-66, Wells 2-17, Wiley 1-27, Cacchio 1-19, Wisniewski 1-17.
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