Some things in life are certain.
Things like death, taxes and Ohio State (4-0 overall) finding the endzone.
If Wisconsin (1-0 Big Ten, 3-1) wants a shot at winning Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, the Badger defense must figure out how to stop dynamic junior quarterback Braxton Miller and the Buckeye offense.
The read-option look that Ohio State utilizes has given opponents problems all season so far, with their smallest margin of victory being 18 points against California on the road.
When a player gets off a block and attacks the ball carrier, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda calls it “gaining a defender,” and it’s the key to beating a read-option. This, along with containing Miller’s run threat on the outside, constitute Wisconsin’s main focus.
This is a turnaround from last week’s matchup against Purdue where the defense played an aggressive game, sacking Boilermaker senior quarterback Rob Henry four times and hurrying him seven times.
“We’ve got to find a happy medium,” Aranda said. “You have to be able to have enough mixups.”
Ohio State is undefeated since Nov. 19, 2011, and Miller has not lost a game in his career as a starter. He suffered a knee injury in a week two matchup against San Diego State and has not played the last two games, but is cleared for practice and is expected to be back Saturday.
“[Miller] has eyes in the back of his head,” Aranda said. “He can scramble, he can make plays on the run … really one of the best I’ve seen.”
Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer has every coach’s favorite problem: too much talent at the quarterback position. Senior backup Kenny Guiton has done exceptionally well in Miller’s absence, throwing 12 touchdowns and setting the school’s single-game touchdown record with 6 in only one half against Florida A&M.
“One of the quarterbacks is a better passer, and the other’s just a better runner,” freshman cornerback Sojourn Shelton said. “Both like to throw a lot of deep balls, and the minute your eyes go back that’s the time they get six points.”
In arguably the biggest game of its regular season, Wisconsin needs to avoid the sort of shootout that is Ohio State’s forte.
Aranda hopes to do this by bulking up the number of “changeup” calls that he will use, allowing the defense to react on the fly to quarterback changes.
Though, for the most part, the players are preparing the same way they would for any other team.
“In any game, when you play your game well you put yourself in a position to be successful,” redshirt senior safety Dezmen Southward said. “Obviously it’s going to be a big-time atmosphere, and the pressure will be at an all-time high.”
The atmosphere will also be electric Saturday, with an expected crowd of around 100,000 people in attendance. Especially for the team’s young secondary, this represents the biggest game that many have played in.
“This is one that I’ve been looking forward to ever since I committed to Wisconsin,” Shelton said. “Since I got here I wanted to prepare myself for this.”
The atmosphere, however, is something that Southward isn’t worrying about.
“You’ve just got to tone their fans out, which, believe it or not, is pretty easy to do,” Southward said. “I’ve never truly been bothered by fans, whether it was freshman year or this year. You really don’t think about anything else because you’re so honed in on what you have to do.”
