Another week, another dominant showing.
Ohio State improved to 8-0 on the season with a convincing 38-7 win over No. 13 Wisconsin yesterday in the Shoe.
Ryan Day's best players rose to the occasion as Chase Young, J.K. Dobbins, Justin Fields and Chris Olave, among others, turned in huge performances to keep Ohio State perfect.
Leading just 10-7 early in the third quarter, the Buckeyes went on a 28-0 run to close the game, marking their 12th-straight win against a ranked opponent.
As Ohio State heads into another open week before hosting Maryland on November 9, here are Five Things from yesterday's punishment of Wisconsin.
DOBBINS NEARLY QUADRUPLES TAYLOR'S OUTPUT
J.K. Dobbins has yet to get the credit he deserves from the national media and after nearly quadrupling the output from an overhyped Jonathan Taylor, it is beyond time Dobbins starts getting more national run.
Dobbins ran for 163 yards on 8.3 per carry with two touchdowns against the nation's top-ranked rushing defense while adding another 58 yards through the air to total 221 yards.
Meanwhile, Ohio State's defense held Taylor to 52 rushing yards on 2.6 per carry with five receiving yards. Hell, Master Teague had more yards than Taylor, going for 76 on 5.7 per try.
The Buckeyes held Taylor to just one chunk play, a run of 14 yards on Wisconsin's second series of the day. Conversely, Dobbins tallied a ridiculous nine chunk plays. He churned out six rushes of over 10 yards with bursts of 12, 13, 14, 17, 28 and 34 yards. His three receptions went for gains of 17, 20 and 21 yards.
Dobbins has now eclipsed the century mark in six of eight games. He also became the first Buckeye to rush for over 1,000 yards as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
CHASE SETS THE PACE
Chase Young is a freak of nature and the best defensive end in Ohio State history.
Yesterday, Young flat out destroyed Wisconsin's entire game plan registering six tackles while tying school records with five tackles for loss and four sacks. Young forced fumbles on two of those sacks, both of which Ohio State's offense converted into touchdowns.
Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison lined Young up all over the field, including a few reps as the de facto middle linebacker and the Badgers simply had no answer.
Young now has at least one sack in 10 consecutive games. His 13.5 sacks through eight games are already the second-most by a Buckeye in a single-season. Young also joined Mike Vrabel as the only Buckeye with at least 10 sacks in consecutive years.
With Young setting the tone, Ohio State's defense held the Badgers to 83 rushing yards on 2.4 yards per carry. The Badgers came into the game averaging 235 rushing yards per came on 5.1 per carry.
SMOOTH OPERATOR
Chris Olave is silky.
The true sophomore has done nothing but make plays since his breakout performance against Michigan last season and yesterday was just the latest example.
On a slippery afternoon, Olave caught a career-high seven passes on eight targets for a career-high 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
A clutch kid, four of his catches, 49 of his yards and both touchdowns came on third down plays.
His first came on a 3rd-and-13 with 43 seconds left in the half and Ohio State clinging to a 3-0 lead. Olave broke free on a post – he had at least three yards on his defender – and hauled in a 27-yard score giving Ohio State a 10-0 lead and momentum heading into the locker room.
Olave's second touchdown came on 3rd-and-Goal from the 4-yard line to finish the game's scoring.
On the season, Olave now leads the team with 411 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches while slotting second with 28 catches, two behind K.J. Hill.
Olave has four touchdowns in the last two games and six in the four.
THE ANSWER
Leading just 10-0 and forced to punt from deep in its own territory on the first possession of the second half, Ohio State's Drue Chrisman shanked a 13-yard punt (that was also deflected).
The play gave Wisconsin excellent field position at the OSU 30 and the Badgers scored three plays later cutting Ohio State's lead to 10-7. The weird turn of events breathed belief into the Wisconsin sideline.
Needing to throw a counter-punch, Ohio State's offense did exactly that as Justin Fields engineered an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
Fields hit Olave for 22 yards on 2nd-and-10 on a beautifully designed play in which Master Teague ran a wheel route down the left sideline to clear out the area. Just after Teague cleared, Olave came from the right side of the formation on a crossing route to fill the vacated space. The execution and timing was simply perfect.
Three plays later, Fields found K.J. Hill for 11 yards on 3rd-and-6 to keep the drive alive. Dobbins peeled off a 28-yard run to the left side after strong blocks from Thayer Munford and Jonah Jackson created the seam.
On the next snap, with the defense keying on Dobbins, Fields sold a strong fake to J.K. running right before darting through the left side of the line for a 10-yard touchdown.
The score pushed Ohio State's lead back to 10 at 17-7, serving as the first haymaker in what became a 28-point assault over the next 17 minutes of action.
BULLY BALL
Ohio State's offensive line put on run blocking display against a Wisconsin front that was the cornerstone of a rush defense allowing just 58 yards per game on 2.2 yards per carry.
With Munford, Jackson, Josh Myers, Wyatt Davis and Branden Bowen paving the way, Ohio State's rushers racked up 264 yards on 5.3 yards per carry. Adjusted for sacks, the line generated 300 yards on the ground via 6.7 per attempt.
Ohio State racked up three rushing touchdowns against a defense that had only surrendered two scores on the ground through the first seven games.
Munford wasn't anywhere close to 100% yet he and his four linemates - all first-year starters mind you - straight up mangled the Badgers.
The Buckeyes are averaging 284 yards per game on 6.2 per carry through eight games. Dobbins has a real shot to break Carlos Hyde's single-season yards per carry record as the team's leading rusher. Hyde ran for 7.3 a pop back in 2013 and Dobbins stands at 7.2 season-to-date.
