#2 Ohio State 30, #8 Wisconsin 23
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Ohio State got its 10th win all-time against ranked teams on the road while itself ranked as the AP No. 1 or No. 2. The overtime win improved Ohio State's record in those games to 10-5-1 (and 45-8-1 against any team on the road while the AP No. 1 or AP No. 2).
Its record against ranked teams while ranked No. 1 or No.2 was rather grim to start. The 1942 Buckeyes' only loss that year was on the road at No. 6 Wisconsin. This started a theme for which a ranked Wisconsin was poised to play spoiler to a top-ranked Ohio State team. Paul Brown's Buckeyes at least responded with double-digit wins over Pittsburgh, No. 13 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan, and the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (the U.S. Navy flight-training school at the University of Iowa) en route to the school's first national championship.
Ohio State's woes as top-ranked team against ranked foes on the road continued in 1950 with a 14-7 loss in Champaign against Illinois. A 9-3 loss the next week against Michigan in the infamous "Snow Bowl" cost Ohio State a Big Ten championship and trip to Pasadena.
The next game for a top-ranked Ohio State team against a ranked team on the road was the infamous 1969 Michigan game. Ohio State fans know well that Woody Hayes took his self-professed best team ever and the defending national champions into Ann Arbor as huge favorites. They left with a 12-point loss and canceled tickets to Pasadena. The "Ten Year War" started in earnest after this game.
| Year | Date | Rank | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Oct. 31 | 1 | No. 6 Wisconsin | L, 7-17 |
| 1950 | Nov. 18 | 1 | No. 8 Illinois | L, 7-14 |
| 1969 | Nov. 22 | 1 | No. 12 Michigan | L, 12-24 |
| 1973 | Nov. 35 | 1 | No. 4 Michigan | T, 10-10 |
| 1975 | Oct. 4 | 2 | No. 13 UCLA | W, 41-20 |
| 1975 | Nov. 22 | 1 | No. 4 Michigan | W, 21-14 |
| 1976 | Sept. 18 | 2 | No. 7 Penn State | W, 12-7 |
| 1979 | Nov. 17 | 2 | No. 13 Michigan | W, 18-15 |
| 1995 | Nov. 25 | 2 | No. 18 Michigan | L, 23-31 |
| 1996 | Oct. 26 | 2 | No. 20 Iowa | W, 38-26 |
| 1998 | Sept. 5 | 1 | No. 11 WVU | W, 34-17 |
| 2006 | Sept. 9 | 1 | No. 2 Texas | W, 24-7 |
| 2006 | Sept. 30 | 1 | No. 13 Iowa | W, 38-17 |
| 2007 | Oct. 27 | 1 | No. 25 Penn State | W, 37-17 |
| 2010 | Oct. 16 | 1 | No. 18 Wisconsin | L, 18-31 |
| 2016 | Oct. 15 | 2 | No. 8 Wisconsin | W, 30-23 (OT) |
Four years later, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan fought to a 10-10 tie. Ohio State at least went to the Rose Bowl but the tie cost the No. 1 Buckeyes a national championship that Notre Dame and Alabama later split.
Ohio State won an impressive nine of its next 10 road games against ranked teams while the AP No. 1 or No. 2. These include the prime-time demolition of No. 13 UCLA in the Rose Bowl in 1975, a big road win at Happy Valley early into the 1976 season, and the win over Michigan in Earle Bruce's 1979 debut season.
Ohio State fans would like to forget the 1995 matchup with Michigan but can take solace in the next five wins in this table. These include some entertaining road wins against No. 11 West Virginia in a highly anticipated "Amos (Zereoué) vs. Andy (Katzenmoyer)" matchup in Morgantown. The Buckeyes even beat the No. 2 Texas Longhorns in Austin. Texas had won the national championship the previous season, also defeating Ohio State in Columbus.
Wisconsin bookends this list. It starts the list with an upset win over No. 1 Ohio State in 1942. It also beat the No. 1 Buckeyes 31-18 in 2010. Ohio State has the most recent laugh in that category of games, even if it took overtime and a walk-off sack to secure the win.
