Three Key Stats: Wisconsin's Efficient Offense, Ohio State's Red Zone Defense and The J.T. Barrett Difference Help the Buckeyes Upend Bucky

Wisconsin punched Ohio State in the mouth and rode the wave of momentum for a while, only to have J.T. Barrett refuse to let his team lose on the road on his watch.

Barrett's huge second half propelled his second-ranked Buckeyes to a 30-23 overtime victory on Saturday night in Camp Randall Stadium, a game that ended on a thrilling walk-off sack of Alex Hornibrook by Ohio State's defensive line.

Ohio State looked out of sorts from the jump defensively, while Barrett struggled to get on the same page with his receivers. The Badgers built a 10-point lead on the leg of Andrew Endicott, who made three field goals before halftime. As it turns out, Ohio State's ability to keep Wisconsin out of the end zone enough gave Barrett just enough time and chances to pull out a win.

Here are three key statistics from Ohio State's victory, which moved it to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Big Ten play.

Wisconsin 6.1 Yards Per Play

Against a variety of jet sweeps and play-action passes to the outside, the Buckeyes continued to find themselves out of position defensively which resulted in huge plays in the early going. The Badgers finished the game averaging 6.1 yards per play, down from the blistering 8.0 clip it put together in the first 30 minutes.

Ohio State struggled to get off blocks on the edge and make plays on the ballcarrier, only to fall for fakes and get gashed up the middle by Corey Clement. Hornibrook made a few nice throws and found tight end Troy Fumagalli seven times for 84 yards. Jazz Peavy caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown while Clement finished with 164 yards on 25 carries.

Paul Chryst put together a brilliant game plan and called a variety of plays Ohio State admitted they did not see on film in their preparation. That led to an efficient offensive day, at least until the Badgers made it do the red zone.

Wisconsin Settles For 2 Red Zone Field Goals

With more than one golden opportunity to blow the game open in the first half, the Badgers had to settle for 32- and 22-yard field goals in the final three minutes before intermission.

Each drive ended with the Buckeyes standing tall and stopping the Badger rushing attack cold, then sacking Hornibrook on third down. It kept them in the game.

“They toughened up, tightened up and made them settle for field goals,” Meyer said. “That to me was a big part of the difference in the game. Once we get in the red zone we tighten up a little bit.”

J.T. Barrett 318 Total Yards

Barrett's numbers weren't the prettiest in the first half—just 6-of-14 passing for 81 yards and eight carries for 38 yards but he didn't quit and continued to show why his presence was the difference for his team.

Barrett finished with 318 yards and three total touchdowns, pushing him past Braxton Miller for the program's all-time lead with 89 scores responsible for.

Simply put, Barrett wasn't going to let his team lose.