COLUMBUS, OHIO-The Badgers found themselves down by double-digits for the third-straight time at the Horseshoe Saturday, and for the third-straight time they came from behind to beat the Buckeyes.
Senior running back Anthony Davis ran for 168 yards on a career-high 39 carries while sophomore quarterback John Stocco had his best game in a Badger uniform, completing 15 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the Badgers' 24-13 victory over the Buckeyes.
\Obviously I'm very pleased with the win,"" Badger Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""I'm proud of the way our players competed and hung in there.""
Wisconsin got off to a slow start, gaining just 33 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Ohio State got on the scoreboard early when the Badger special teams allowed the only OSU touchdown of the day.
Freshman defensive back Ted Ginn Jr. returned a Badger punt 65 yards to put the Buckeyes up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
With the lone OSU touchdown coming on special teams, the Wisconsin defense allowed just six points and kept its opponent out of the end zone for the fourth time this season.
Ohio State senior kicker Mike Nugent tacked on a field goal early in the second quarter to put the Buckeyes up 10 points before the Badgers came storming back.
""We didn't start off as well as we would've liked to, but we never quit,"" Stocco said.
""We've been down 17-0 to them twice,"" senior cornerback Scott Starks said. ""We don't worry about how many points they have. As long as we keep playing our game we'll come out on top.""
On the ensuing kickoff, junior wide receiver Brandon Williams returned the kick 46 yards to give the Badgers the ball in good field position. It took the offense just five plays to find the end zone. On what would be his longest carry of the game, Davis ran 31 yards to cut the deficit to 10-7.
""It was a war out there,"" Davis said. ""You could hear the hits. It was a very physical game, but that's Big Ten football.""
The Badgers would score what ended up being the game-winning touchdown on their next possession. Stocco took over, carrying his team 78 yards over three minutes. Over that span, Stocco hooked up with junior tight end Jason Pociask and junior wide receiver Owen Daniels on back-to-back plays totalling 50 yards. Then, on third-and-goal from the eight-yard line, Stocco found senior wide receiver Darrin Charles for the score.
Nugent would add one more field goal on the final play of the half, a 55-yard kick that tied his career-long. It would be the Buckeyes' last score of the game as the stingy UW defense shut out OSU in the second half.
Despite yielding just three points, the Badgers' first drive of the second half may have been their most important. They marched 72 yards on 13 plays before senior kicker Mike Allen gave the Badgers some breathing room with a 26-yard field goal.
On the second play of that drive, Davis ran for 13 yards. He lost the ball at the end of the play, but it was not ruled a fumble. After reviewing the play, the officials decided that the Badgers would retain the ball due to an inadvertent whistle.
Wisconsin's offense held the ball for more than 21 minutes in the second half, wearing out the Buckeye defense as the UW defense held the OSU offense to just 23 plays in the second half.
The Badgers would add seven more points early in the fourth quarter. The Badger punt coverage team got its revenge when OSU sophomore flanker Santonio Holmes fumbled a punt. Starks recovered, giving Wisconsin the ball on the OSU 17-yard line.
""We just made a mistake in coverage on the first one,"" Starks said. ""We corrected that and we were able to cover the punt well after that.""
Three plays into the drive, Stocco threw the ball up for junior wide receiver Jonathon Orr in the corner of the end zone. Orr laid out for the ball and made an acrobatic touchdown catch, cushioning the Badger lead.
""That was unbelievable. I just threw it up there and let those guys go get it,"" Stocco said.
Stocco proved his worth on a variety of levels Saturday. Not only did he have his best numbers, but he did not turn the ball over and became a much louder voice both on the field and on the sidelines.
""I thought [he] played his best game in a very difficult situation,"" Alvarez said. ""He took care of the football and he made some plays.""
""Unbelievable composure and certainly a whole lot of poise. I was definitely very surprised,"" Charles said of Stocco's effort. ""He was really focused and a lot more vocal in the huddle.""
""I just wanted to step up this game because I knew I had to and I was trying to do everything I could,"" Stocco said.
The two teams punted the ball back and forth over the final eight minutes. As the game ended, the two teams scuffled at midfield, another sign of the increasingly heated rivalry between the two schools. However, the teams will not meet again for three years.
The loss ended Ohio State's 18-game home winning streak and marked the first time in 14 years that the team started the Big Ten season 0-2.
For the Badgers, it was their third straight win at the Horseshoe, a feat that the team had never accomplished. The undefeated Badgers, now ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll, will face fellow-Big Ten unbeaten No. 5 Purdue next weekend.
Leonhard breaks Big Ten return record
With an 11-yard punt return in the first quarter, senior safety Jim Leonhard set the Big Ten record for most career punt-return yards.
He now has 1,180 punt return yards, 13 more than previous record-holder Penn State's Bruce Branch.
""[The record] means a lot because all these guys that have come through this program that have been on special teams and just the heart and soul of the team. That's what keeps us together, just the people that go out there and work, and I have 10 guys in front of me that are those guys.""
