The No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers fell in dramatic and uncharacteristic fashion to Illinois last weekend. Now, the team must regroup as it prepares for the Goliath of the Big Ten Conference in No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, FOX).

The Buckeyes have won their first seven contests by a combined 348-56, and on Oct. 18, it overwhelmed Northwestern in Evanston by a 52-3 margin. Head coach Paul Chryst, his staff, and his players all will have their hands full coming up in a few days.

Here are significant stats, players to know and key insight from Buckeye Grove's Kevin Noon.

*Record: 7-0, 4-0 Big Ten

*Points per game: 49.7

*Opponents points per game: 8.0

*Rushing yards per game: 287.1

*Opponents rushing yards per game: 92.7

*Passing yards per game: 239.6

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 136.3

*Third-down conversions: 56%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 26%

*Total turnovers created: 15 (10 interceptions, five fumble recoveries)

*Total turnovers given up: 6 (one interception, five fumbles lost)

*Sacks: 29

*Sacks allowed: 14

*Quarterback Justin Fields: 70.7 completion percentage, 1,492 yards, 22 touchdowns, one interception, 190.2 passing efficiency; 291 rushing yards, 4.6 yards per carry, eight touchdowns

*Running back J.K. Dobbins: 947 rushing yards, 7.1 yards per carry, seven touchdowns

*Running back Master Teague: 512 rushing yards, 7.0 yards per carry, four touchdowns

*Wide receiver K.J. Hill: 29 receptions, 294 yards, four touchdowns

*Wide receiver Chris Olave: 21 receptions, 318 yards, six touchdowns

*Wide receiver Binjimen Victor: 19 receptions, 355 yards, three touchdowns

*Defensive end Chase Young: 23 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles

*Linebacker Malik Harrison: 37 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries

*Linebacker Baron Browning: 23 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks

*Defensive back Jordan Fuller: 37 tackles, two interceptions

*Defensive tackle Jashon Cornell: 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks

*Cornerback Jeff Okudah: 17 tackles, one tackle for loss, three interceptions, three pass breakups

*Cornerback Shaun Wade: 15 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, seven pass breakups

Everyone is going to focus on what this team has done in the second quarter but the Buckeyes have still put up 73 points in the first quarter, which is still more points than Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern and Rutgers have each scored in Big Ten play. Or for even more perspective, more than Northwestern and Rutgers have scored combined in Big Ten play.

The Buckeyes have scored 348 points so far this season, 68 more points than any other team and have led every game they have played by at least 17 points going into halftime. When the Buckeyes only put up seven points in the first quarter, the belief is that they got off to a slow start.

“My wife said, ‘It's a tough first quarter,’ I looked, 10 minutes, we scored a touchdown, four minutes into the game we scored a touchdown,” Ryan Day said of the Northwestern game, a game where the Buckeyes put up a final score of 52-3. “It wasn't that bad (smiling).”

It really comes down to the fact that this is a truly balanced team in terms of what they can do well. The rushing yards are still skewed to the run by almost 48 yards per game but the Buckeyes are also plus-six in passing touchdowns over rushing touchdowns. This is not an offense where you can either take away Dwayne Haskins or try and take away the run game and leave Ohio State with its much-weaker half to try and fight its way through the game. There is not that much-weaker half to be had and it is going to take a full-effort of taking everything away, a task that nobody has been up to, to date.

Ohio State does not comment on injuries under Day and does not update the depth chart/status report until Fridays, well before I am answering this question.

Last week the Buckeyes were without a couple of key players, as linebacker Baron Browning was out due to injury and did not travel to Evanston (Ill.). But early reports are that he should be able to go this week. He is one of Ohio State’s more athletic linebackers and would serve as a spy if they decided to really double-down on Jack Coan’s running ability. Even if he did not spy, he might be a better option to see more snaps than Tuf Borland against this type of attack.

Josh Alabi is Ohio State’s third tackle and he was a key loss with starting left tackle Thayer Munford listed as a game-time decision last week. That forced Nick Petit-Frere into the starting lineup and NPF saw most of the action as Munford played 14 snaps, according to PFF.com, and gutted through things. Munford is coming along and as of now, is expected to be a go against Wisconsin.

Tight end Jake Hausmann is the third or fourth tight end on the team from week-to-week and provides depth but that was not a huge hit in terms of daily operation. Linebacker Teradja Mitchell is a major player on special teams and the hope is that he will be back. Receiver CJ Saunders has been hurt all season and as he gets closer, it is still uncertain where he would fit in immediately. The rest of the injured list is comprised of players who have been out significant time or are buried on the depth chart.

The Buckeyes don’t want to run Fields that much and that has been evidenced by the fact that he does not have more than 12 carries in a game and in two of his double-digit carry games, it was against defenses that were not doing a good job of getting out and hitting him.

The fact is that Ohio State is going to need to run Fields in a few games this year just to get over the hump but there is a pretty big divide between what Fields can do and what his backups are able to do, even though the staff seems to have a lot of confidence in the gains that Chris Chugunov has made to date.

Fields has a great grasp of the offense and the Buckeyes have held a lot back in terms of what the offense can do based on who they have played and playing what they need to play to win each one-game season from week-to-week. Fields is not torching the field in terms of putting up huge yards - 234 is the highest mark and that happened in the opener. He has not attempted more than 25 passes because he has not needed to at this point. The ground game has been right there carrying the load as J.K. Dobbins builds on a strong season that has him neck-and-neck with Jonathan Taylor for yardage (Taylor has lapped the field for touchdowns, however).

With Ohio State being more balanced, the line is able to run block more rather than pass protect and that has benefitted everyone involved as the ground game seems to have new life in its lungs from a 2018 that was not a great one for the entire rush game.

K.J. Hill is Ohio State’s most frequent target on offense but I would keep an eye on Chris Olave has he really has come on as a go-to target in the offense.

There is a good mixture on the defensive front for the Buckeyes and they continue to get more and more healthy as guys like Jonathon Cooper, Tyler Friday, Tyreke Smith and B.B. Landers have all missed some time along the way.

A couple of guys that have been overlooked this season by many are defensive tackles Davon Hamilton and Tommy Togiai, and both are doing the dirty work inside allowing the edges to have their way on free runs to the quarterback. Plus, the Buckeyes do enough blitzing to keep everyone on-edge on the other side of the ball.

Ohio State does a great job of rolling players in and out of the lineup that you really don’t see the same four on the field all that much after the first couple of series that it is hard to focus on a lot of guys as you never know who is going to be in there. But, obviously, everything starts with Chase Young and his ability to change games and make even the best offensive linemen look bad in the process.

In short, I think if Wisconsin is able to get a real pass rush on Ohio State, especially with just four guys, that might be something that the Buckeyes have not seen so far. If the Badgers are still able to drop seven, that could create some issues. I also think that the Buckeyes might struggle to find much success between the tackles running the ball to start the game. The Badgers need to capitalize there, get some points on the board and force the Buckeyes to reassess their plan of attack. Ohio State traditionally has had issues with Wisconsin tight ends in the past; Jake Ferguson is a solid one and could call some of Ohio State’s linebacker coverage skills into question, especially if someone like Baron Browning is either not available or is limited.

I think Ohio State’s passing game is going to be like nothing that the Badgers have seen to date. When Kent State is the most efficient pass offense that a team faces, at No. 37 in the nation, that means you have not been tested. I watched Michigan during garbage time chuck the ball down the field and, while the game was already "in hand," I think the Buckeyes can do that early and often in this game. I also think that if Ohio State is able to get into the second quarter with a lead or even close, the running game will start to open up and this will be another instance of where the Badgers have not faced a team like the Buckeyes on the ground. Finally, I think the Ohio State secondary may have some issues with Quintez Cephus, but outside of that, should do a good job taking most of the passing game away.

I don’t buy into the whole, "well this team is mad now, watch out" line of thinking. Wisconsin lost to Illinois, looked bad against Northwestern and now walks into a game against Ohio State where the Buckeyes are looking to finally make a statement.

Ohio State’s first two (or three) tests have not been tests at all despite two of the three being on the road with overmatched Nebraska and Northwestern looking really bad and Michigan State able to slow the Buckeyes down for maybe a quarter before impending doom set in.

Ohio State is going to be able to throw the ball like no other team the Badgers has faced. And while I don’t think we will see a lot of home runs in this game as the Wisconsin defense is pretty solid, I think Ohio State’s offense is just too diverse for the Badgers to be able to keep adjusting to what the Buckeyes are able to do.

When it comes to the Wisconsin offense, I think the Buckeyes will be able to get to Jack Coan, if not by hitting him, by confusing him and jumping routes and either forcing turnovers or three-and-outs. In the last four games between these two teams, only once has Wisconsin seen a feature back go for more than 100 yards, and that was Corey Clement in 2016 when he rushed for 164 yards on 25 carries. Mixed in there you have a 41-yard outing by Taylor as well as 74 and 76-yard games by Montee Ball. I don’t think the Buckeyes will be able to take Taylor completely out of this game, but they will hold him shy of his 136.7 YPG average.

Ultimately, these two defenses will both play solid games but Ohio State’s diversity on offense will be the difference maker. There is not just one "thing" that you can take away to beat the Buckeyes, whereas I think that keeping Taylor to just 25 percent of his game would mean little offense for Wisconsin. I know that five of the last six games in this series have been decided by just one score but I think the trend does not hold here as the Buckeyes win in convincing fashion.

Ohio State 38 Wisconsin 21