Wisconsin played its fifth conference game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes, losing 24-10 in Camp Randall on Saturday night. Luke Fickell and the Badgers will now look to a road game against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday morning.

BadgerBlitz.com brings you our weekly "3-2-1" series, honing in on the Week 9 loss to Ohio State, and what it will mean going forward.

Everybody felt pressure given the opponent, but all eyes were especially on Braedyn Locke after his incredible comeback against Illinois last week.

It started out tough. Locke being a redshirt freshman in his second start was obvious at times. After Chimere Dike returned a punt 35 yards to Ohio State’s 36-yard-line, Locke froze up. He was called for a delay of game on second down, then sailed it over Will Pauling’s head on third down, to set up a failed 54-yard field goal attempt.

He completed just one pass out of five attempts for five yards in the entire first quarter. Locke also wasn’t getting much help from his offensive line, nor his coordinator.

Ohio State’s defensive line was a constant force, especially early on, leaving little time for any pass play to develop.

However, the truly frustrating part was how Phil Longo rarely ever put him in a position to succeed. After the Buckeyes scored their first touchdown to take a 10-0 lead, a struggling Locke threw three straight passes for seven total yards, leading to a punt.

The first glimpse of success for the offense came at the end of the first half, when Locke led Wisconsin all the way down to the 2-yard-line. Longo called two questionable runs out of shotgun formation on second and third down that went nowhere, ending the half with a disappointing field goal.

Locke began the third quarter without two of his starting weapons, after Braelon Allen and Dike went down with leg injuries during the first half.

It didn’t seem to immediately matter, as Locke had his best drive all game. He completed a pass to Bryson Green, who took it 27 yards into Ohio State territory on the first play. Three plays later on 3rd-and-6, Locke found an opening up the middle and scrambled for 29 yards to set up his only touchdown of the game.

On Wisconsin’s next possession, after Locke had finally found some momentum, Longo called three straight runs with Jackson Acker. This led to a three-and-out and killed the offense’s short-lived momentum.

The rest of the game was uneventful for Locke and the offense. The loss of their best player in Allen and a veteran receiver in Dike widened the talent gap even more. Ohio State’s defensive front also eventually wore out Wisconsin’s line.

Locke finished with a poor stat line and mostly unsuccessful plays, but his flashes of excellence can’t be forgotten against the best defense he’ll play all year, by far.