Staff Picks: Can Ohio State avoid letdown at Wisconsin?

COLUMBUS — It’s been seven years since Ohio State’s last trip to Camp Randall Stadium. Back then, the then-No. 2 Buckeyes escaped with a thrilling, overtime win over then-No. 8 Wisconsin.

After Ohio State entered halftime down, 16-6, longtime Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett accounted for three touchdowns, the last of which took place in the extra frame and was a seven-yard touchdown pass to Buckeyes receiver Noah Brown in the corner of the end zone.

Then a Tyquan Lewis sack on 4th-and-Goal from the 4-yard line clinched the 30-23 victory.

That game featured inclement weather, including heavy rain that affected Barrett in the third quarter. Ohio State could be in for some more trouble from Mother Nature this time around.

There’s a greater than 70% chance of precipitation in the evening and night Saturday in Madison, according to AccuWeather. Couple that potential rain with sub-40 degree temperatures — plus the hostile Camp Randall atmosphere — and the No. 3 Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) could be in for a road test against Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1), a traditionally physical Big Ten crossover opponent.

The Lettermen Row crew is expecting Ohio State to leave the weekend undefeated, though.

Staff writers Tim May, Andy Backstrom, Spencer Holbrook, Matt Parker and Alex Gleitman give their score predictions below:

Tim May: 38-13, Buckeyes

“By the time the “Jump Around” comes around, which is between the third and fourth quarters up there. … by the time that part of the game comes along, Ohio State will have put this victory well in hand.

“… The weather, I can’t get a firm grip or grasp, whatever you want to call it. It could be crappy and getting crappier as the game goes on. But I’m going to go Ohio State somewhere in the neighborhood — like I said, I think they’ll have it hand by the start of the fourth quarter — of something like 38-13. I think the defense is going to have a nice night.”

Andy Backstrom: 27-14, Buckeyes

“I also agree that the defense will play well. I’m going to go with Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 14. Before the season started, back in June, I circled this game as a potential loss for Ohio State. Now, Wisconsin has not been nearly as explosive offensively as I thought they could have been. They brought in a lot of transfers, and you never know how that’s going to be. It has not been smooth sailing for that offense.

“They lose Tanner Mordecai to a broken hand, so he’s not playing. You got Braedyn Locke as the backup in right now. They had the comeback win last week at Illinois. Running back Braelon Allen is really hard to tackle. The two touchdowns are probably going to come from either him catching the ball or running the football. I think this Wisconsin team has a lot of talent. I just think that they’ll hang around and find a way. But I think that Ohio State will win, ultimately, by 13 points.”

Spencer Holbrook: 31-6, Buckeyes

“Yeah, I’ve got this at 31-6. I think that this is a game where Ohio State gets three-and-outs and gets off the field. The offense has more possessions to be able to get to that 31. I still don’t know that it’s going to be the most efficient game that we can see from an offense like this. But that’s only five scoring drives.

“If you’re getting three-and-outs, if you’re getting four and five-play possessions, you’re getting the ball more often. And we saw that on Saturday. They got the ball a lot against Penn State because they were getting off the field quickly.”

Matt Parker: 31-7, Buckeyes

“Ohio State is still learning and formulating its offensive identity. This weekend would be one heck of a weekend to announce it to the world. The Buckeyes know what the environment is going to be like. They know what the conditions are going to be like. But all of that aside, they have to execute against a team that, pointedly, is not as talented as they are.

“There is room for the emotional letdown this week after winning a top-10 game (again) this season. That letdown could very well just be a sluggish start, and I don’t see this Ohio State team losing on the road. Behind another defensive effort, the Buckeyes remain undefeated.”

Alex Gleitman: 38-10, Buckeyes

“Before the Penn State game, I thought this was a massive trap game for Ohio State. In Madison, coming off what would likely be a physical game and emotional win, at night on Halloween (UW is known as a big Halloween party school like Ohio U), and with Luke Fickell wanting to get a signature win against the team he played and coached for. Everything added up for the Buckeyes to be on upset alert.

“As this week has gone on, though, while I know Ohio State has offensive struggles and may have some trouble with the Wisconsin defense, I just don’t think the Badgers’ offense is anywhere close to how good they need to be to keep their defense off the field enough and score what they need to in order to win the game. I have a feeling this is the “coming out game” for Ohio State on the national stage, where everything clicks for the program in all three phases. Things may start out a little slow, but the Buckeyes roll to a dominant win.”