COLUMBUS - Ohio State offered Wisconsin a cruel reminder of the sizable gap between the two programs Saturday night in Columbus. To kick off conference play, the Badgers were humbled in a 52-21 loss that was over 87 seconds into the second quarter.

The Buckeyes scored on their first five drives of the game and opened up a 31-7 halftime lead. Conversely, Wisconsin tallied just 96 yards in the first half, 72 of which came on a 10-play scoring drive.

BadgerBlitz.com offers key takeaways from Wisconsin's loss at Ohio Stadium.

The loss a couple of weeks ago at home to Washington State likely registered as a stark reminder that the Badgers still can't compete with the elite of the conference. If the defeat as a 17-point favorite didn't do it, an embarrassing 31-point loss to Ohio State surely did the trick.

To get things started in Columbus, Wisconsin won the toss and elected to defer. After a muffed kickoff return, Ohio State's offense was backed up at its own 12-yard line.

Little did that matter. C.J. Stroud and the potent Buckeyes offense proceeded to march down the field and churned out a six-play, 88-yard scoring drive to put OSU on top early. When facing a second and 10, Graham Mertz and receiver Chimere Dike weren't on the same page on what was on an option route. Mertz threw behind Dike and the ball fell into the hands of an Ohio State defensive back.

Stroud found tight end Cade Stover for a 13-yard touchdown two plays later. The rout was on. Just six minutes and six seconds into the game, Wisconsin was staring at a 14-0 deficit.

In much the same way Wisconsin opened up an early lead and went on to overmatch New Mexico State a week ago, the Badgers looked to be in a different weight class than the Buckeyes.

Over the course of the game, Wisconsin forced the Buckeyes to punt just one time. Of Ohio State's first 15 plays, 10 went for first downs. OSU tallied 210 yards in the first quarter at a clip of 11.1 yards per play compared to 23 total yards mustered by Wisconsin on 11 plays, good for 2.1 yards per opportunity.

Any way you look at it, the Badgers were thoroughly dominated by Ohio State. Extending the head-to-head losing streak to nine games, Paul Chryst and the program will have to go back to the drawing board when it comes to defeating the giant of the conference.

Since Jim Leonhard was named coordinator back in 2017, Wisconsin's defense has consistently been one of the top units in the country. The group has often held its own and kept Wisconsin in games until the top came off.

That was not the case Saturday night.

An opponent threw for five passing touchdowns for the first time since Sept. 3, 2005 when Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs reached the feat. On the ground, Treveyon Henderson ran for 121 yards at 5.8 yards per carry, and Miyan Williams had 101 yards on 11 carries at 9.2 yards per attempts. The last time an opponent did had two 100-yard rushers was when LaMichael James and De'Anthony Thomas did so for Oregon on Jan. 2, 2012.

The 56 points was also the first time a Wisconsin has given 50 or more points since the 2014 Big Ten title game when Ohio State blanked the Badgers, 59-0.

For the first time under Leonhard, Wisconsin's defense was completely overwhelmed.

The tackling issues that showed up the first three weeks of the season were once again an issue in Columbus.

The sloppy form showed up early with C.J. Stroud hitting Marvin Harrison Jr. in the flat with cornerback Ricardo Hallman attempting to undercut the throw. The poor angle put Hallman in a bad position and allowed Harrison Jr. to cut upfield for an 18-yard gain. The completion began a stretch of four consecutive four first downs on four straight plays.

On OSU's fourth drive of the game, inside linebacker Jordan Turner had Miyan Williams stopped short of the sticks. Williams shed his arm tackle and later bounced off a soft attempt from cornerback Max Lofy to set Ohio State up at the Wisconsin 3-yard line before scoring on the next play.

Through four weeks, the Badgers defense has consistently struggled when it comes to wrapping up ball carriers.

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