The Best Wisconsin Badgers Football Games by Week: Week Seven

MADISON, Wis. – The Big Ten will be back in one week, but that still leaves time without college football in the Midwest. To fill that void, BadgerBlitz.com is turning back the clock to pick the best/most meaningful Wisconsin regular-season games each Saturday.

To make it more interesting, we’re picking the best games of a specific week: the best season openers, the best week two games, week three, etc, of the modern era (since 1947). Some weeks won’t be a fair fight, as the number of games has increased over that time (nine games until 1965, 10 games until 1971, 11 games in 1997 and mostly 12 since) with the addition of more non-conference games, but the impact these games had for Wisconsin can’t be disputed.

RELATED: WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 |

Our pick for Wisconsin’s best week seven game of the modern era: October 16, 2010, vs. No.1 Ohio State.

Bret Bielema had done a lot of winning through his first five-plus seasons, a combined record of 43-15 to be exact. The one thorn in his side, however, was the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Badgers had their chances in 2007, 2008 and 2009 to beat Ohio State and found a variety of ways to come up short – a bad fourth quarter in 2007, a failed defensive stand in 2008 and too many turnovers in 2009, the last one prompting Bielema to quip postgame how much he hated losing to them.

“They’ve all been close games, hard-fought battles, and we haven’t finished, and they have,” Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzien said. “Right now, they have the bragging rights.”

As the teams prepared to meet in 2010, the Buckeyes had won 12 straight games and ascended to No.1 in the country behind junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was looking to lead the program to at least a share of a sixth consecutive Big Ten championship.

In the six games leading into the primetime tilt, Pryor completed 68 percent of his passes for an average of 224.8 yards per game and a 15-to-3 touchdown-interceptions ratio. He didn’t have to do it alone, as the Buckeyes’ defense ranked first in the league in total defense (237 yards allowed per game) and second in scoring defense (13.5 allowed per game).

“To go against an opponent at a level that Ohio State has been able to uphold for so long is going to be a nice measuring stick,” said Bielema, who at the time was 1-8 against ranked opponents. “I think our guys will have that in the back of their minds and move forward. Hopefully, everybody will be at a position to be at their best.”

Continuing the momentum it created for itself at the end of 2009 season, Wisconsin started off 4-0 and moved to No.11 in the country before stubbing its toe in the conference opener at Michigan State. Holding on to the axe the following week helped the Badgers get back on track, but Wisconsin’s players knew that if they wanted to accomplish the goal of winning the Big Ten, the Badgers couldn’t afford any more conference slip ups … and they had to get over the Ohio State hurdle.

“We’ve been known as a solid football team the last couple years but to make that jump from good to great,” defensive end J.J. Watt, “beating the number one team in the country and beating Ohio State would be a great thing for our program.”

When asked leading into the game if he and true freshman James White had come up with a nickname for their running back tandem, junior running back John Clay just laughed, shrugged his shoulders and said nothing had stuck yet. How about this one: program changer?

In what will easily go down as one of the program’s greatest moments, Clay rushed for 104 yards and scored two first-half touchdowns while White added 75 yards and the game-clinching score in the fourth quarter, propelling No.18 Wisconsin and 80,000 screaming, celebratory fans on to the Camp Randall Turf after knocking off No.1 Ohio State, 31-18.

“We knew what we could do when we got the ball going,” a wide-grin Clay said after escaping the humanity. “In our house, we knew we could win this game. The outside world had second thoughts, but we knew it could happen. This showed the world we can play with anyone when we take care of our business.”

Wisconsin hadn't defeated a No. 1 since 1981, when the Badgers knocked off Michigan, 21-14. After close calls contributed to the Badgers losing three-straight games to Buckeyes, Bielema did something out of the norm. He challenged his offensive line and his running backs to make a difference. The first change was cosmetic.

During his weekly barber shop visit for his Mohawk trim, Clay had the numbers of all five starting offensive linemen etched into his doo, a tribute to the guys up front blocking for him. They didn’t let him down.

“The offensive line was doing a great job,” Clay said. “They work for me out there in the front, in the trenches, moving people for me so we can run the ball.”

Part of the reason Ohio State had ascended to number one on the country was because of the Buckeyes’ stout run defense. In six games, the Buckeyes had limited opponents to an average of 78.7 yards rushing and a total of three scores.

Wisconsin showed how weak opponents can skew the statistics. If David Gilreath’s 97-yard kickoff return to start the game stunned the Buckeyes, Clay’s first-quarter runs were a sucker punch. With his offensive line (a group also wearing a chip from last season’s Columbus setback) opening up running lanes as wide as State Street, Clay carried nine times for 71 yards in the opening quarter.

Putting that number in perspective, Clay had a total of 59 yards in last year’s game and the Ohio State defense hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in the previous 29 games.

“Establishing our run game was the key to victory,” senior guard John Moffitt said. “Being able to move the ball the right way and not be put in any bad third down situations, I think we were successful with that all game.”

Not only did the running game provide the jumpstart, it also provided the finish. After Ohio State scored on its first two second-half possessions to cut a 21-3 lead to 21-18, White provided the change of speed that finally shook off the visitors.

“We knew we had to have a long drive,” White said. “We knew we had to score.”

Running the same play around the left end multiple times on the 10-play, 73-yard drive to get a read on the defense, White took the handoff, cut inside to make the cornerback slip to the ground and cut back outside to break an arm tackle by the strong safety to deliver the dagger.

Over the last 11 games dating to last season, the Buckeyes have outgained the opposition on the ground by +1,737 yards (2,592 to 855) – an average of +157.9 yards per game. On that night, the Badgers outgained the Ohio State running backs 179 to 99.

“They’re a great tempo change (with) the big power guy then the quickness with White. We were saying the whole week as we were preparing. It’s a great one-two punch. They’ve always got a good one-two punch. You just kind of change the jersey numbers and the names, they’re always got a good one-two punch at Wisconsin.”

- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel

For starters, week seven is full of some of the most memorable victories in program history. For example, No.8 Wisconsin delivered 21 third-quarter points behind wide receiver Pat Richter to beat No.1 Northwestern, 37-6, clearing the path for the Badgers to make the much-talked-about 1963 Rose Bowl (No.2 UW vs. No.1 USC). In 2003, Matt Schabert hit Lee Evans for 79 yards to lift No.23 UW over No.3 Ohio State at Camp Randall, sending the students streaming on to the field. There also was Scott Starks’ fumble return to push No.10 Wisconsin over No.5 Purdue in front of a national audience in West Lafayette, Ind. (UW started 9-0 that season, Purdue has never recovered).

In a way, however, this victory started an incredible decade for the Badgers. In the immediate aftermath, the victory boosted Wisconsin to win its final five games and win a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1999. UW shared the title with Michigan State and the Buckeyes that season, but the Badgers went to the Rose Bowl as the highest ranked team. The newfound confidence helped UW win the next two Big Ten titles and deliver seven 10+ win seasons in the 2010s. There were a lot of good wins along the way, but few top that magical October night.