This past Saturday night I watched the Stanford-USC game primarily because I thought that Ohio State would get blown out by Wisconsin but as Lee Corso always says, “Not so fast my friend.”
In the first quarter Wisconsin struck first with a touchdown and then Ohio State scored a field goal in the second. At halftime it was 7 to 3 and I was completely surprised that OSU was still in it. I expected Wisconsin to have scored two or three touchdowns already but maybe they started slow. Not the case.
The third quarter started and Ohio State scored two touchdowns on two straight drives giving them a ten point lead over Wisconsin. What was going on with the Wisconsin Badgers? Were they still shocked by last week’s upset? Was Russell Wilson thinking too much about his Heisman chances? I can’t really tell you but after Ohio State scored their second touchdown Wisconsin responded with one of their own cutting the lead to three heading into the fourth quarter.
Once the fourth quarter began Ohio State took control. They made a field goal and then scored a touchdown making it 26-14. They went for two but didn’t get it. I don’t know why they went for two when they were up by 12 but maybe coach Fickell thought that Wisconsin would score two touchdowns and take the lead had they gone for one. He was right. Wisconsin scored two touchdowns and then went for two on their second one and got it. The score was now 29-26 with only a minute and 18 seconds left in the game.
This would be it, the drive for Ohio State that would show if Braxton Miller would be the quarterback to lead OSU back to the promise land. Miller hadn’t done much throwing the ball but was making plays with his feet. they started at their own 48 yard line and got it down to Wisconsin’s 40 before the play that will be remembered forever by OSU fans and Braxton Miller. Miller got the ball, rolled out to his right, and then threw a bomb to Devin Smith in the end zone giving Ohio State the lead with just 20 seconds left in the game. Wisconsin couldn’t score with what little time remained. Ohio State fans then rushed the field and celebrated the team’s biggest upset of the year.
This game certainly showed a few things. The first is that Braxton Miller has proven that he is the future quarterback for Ohio State with composure during their last drive of the game. The second is that Luke Fickell might have proven the critics wrong and he may be the future coach. The final one is that OSU now has a chance at going to the Big Ten Championship game. A team that was supposed to have a losing season might just end up in a BCS bowl game. Wouldn’t that be something?
