MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst met with local media members on Thursday before practice to give a few updates on his team as they get ready to take on No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
Badgers won't try to re-invent the wheel against Ohio State
It's easy to get caught up in the details when breaking down a matchup between two Top 10 teams, but head coach Paul Chryst put it in simple terms on Thursday before practice: if the Badgers are going to beat Ohio State, they're going to have play a better game of football than the Buckeyes.
Asked about shutting down Ohio State's prolific running game, Chryst said that the biggest key will be for his defense to do their jobs, and the offense will have to do theirs as well.
"The key is playing good football," Chryst said Thursday. "The key to winning games is playing good football. There's no secret. There's going to be times where you need to win the one-on-one battles and then you look at it and say that play made the difference. I think the same with stopping the run game- it's a really good run game. We've got to all do our assignment. If you get a chance to tackle, you've got to tackle."
"We're not trying to re-invent the wheel here. There is no magic to playing this game. You've got to play it and play it the right way. That's what I like about this group. They get that. They look forward to playing the game."
Injury Update
The Badgers released their official injury report on Thursday ahead of Saturday's game, and upgraded Chikwe Obasih after the junior defensive end was listed as questionable on the team's preliminary report on Monday.
Freshman offensive guard Jon Dietzen (leg) and freshman running back Bradrick Shaw (shoulder) were still listed as questionable for Saturday. Both Dietzen and Shaw have been battling their injuries since the non-conference season, and getting Dietzen back in to the starting lineup could give the Badgers a big boost against the Buckeyes this weekend.
Safety Keelon Brookins (leg) and running back Taiwan Deal (leg) were both downgraded to out for Saturday, after both players made their initial appearance on the injury report on Monday. Outside linebacker Vince Biegel and cornerback Natrell Jamerson were also listed as being out for this game, along with Rafael Gaglianone and Chris Orr, who are out for the rest of the season.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
