Wisconsin’s Scott Tolzien got hit so many times Saturday, it’s a wonder he didn’t conduct his postgame interview from a hospital room.
The former standout quarterback from Fremd High School somehow managed to survive an Ohio State defense that Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel described as “relentless.”
Asked how many times he believed he got sacked, Tolzien replied: “I want to say maybe three or four times.”
Actually it was six. And to observers, it seemed like many more.
But this was a game of Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. The stat sheet gave no indication of the final score: Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 13.
The Badgers had the ball for more than 42 minutes, ran more than twice as many plays (89-40) and had nearly three times as many first downs (22-8). Tolzien completed 27 passes to Terrelle Pryor’s five.
Yet the proper response to all that can be summed up in two words: So what.
“It was obviously a different type of football game,” Tressel said.
That it was. Ohio State’s defense outscored its offense 14-10.
Kurt Coleman broke a scoreless tie with an 89-yard interception return late in the first quarter after Tolzien floated one over the middle. Coleman kept his balance as he flew down the sideline.
“I thought for sure I’d step out,” he said. “Had to put on my dancing shoes.”
He apparently loaned them to safety Jermale Hines, who tipped a Tolzien pass to himself and sprinted 32 yards for a score.
That pick-6 gave Ohio State a 21-10 lead, and the Buckeyes effectively ended it two minutes later, when Ray Small sprinted up the middle on a 96-yard kickoff return that seemed to last as long as the snap of a finger.
“He downshifted,” Tressel said, “and he was gone.”
Also gone were Wisconsin’s hopes of remaining undefeated.
“It’s a 31-13 game, and 21 points were scored when our defense was not on the field,” said coach Bret Bielema, whose team fell to 5-1, 2-1 in the Big Ten. “Anytime that happens, you have absolutely no chance of winning on the road in the Big Ten.”
You wouldn’t think that Ohio State (5-1, 3-0) could win with an offense that gained just 184 yards. But the ninth-ranked Buckeyes did thanks to a ferocious defense and just enough from Pryor, who completed one of his first seven passes but changed the game with a 27-yard rush shortly before halftime.
“He’s a big dude,” Badgers defensive end J.J. Watt said of the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Pryor. “And for him to break tackles like he does … “
Pryor’s key completion was a 32-yard touchdown pass to DeVier Posey, who made a twisting, back-shoulder grab.
That was Ohio State’s only offensive touchdown. Then again, it’s hard to score from the sideline.
“We were all getting cold,” tight end Jake Ballard said. “We had to keep our legs fresh.”
A different type of football game, indeed.
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2-minute drill
Getting offensive: The only gaudy numbers belonged to the Badgers, who outgained the Buckeyes 368 yards to 184. Badgers QB Scott Tolzien completed a career-high 27 passes to 10 teammates.
On the defensive: Ohio State returned two interceptions for TDs and registered 10 tackles for loss, including six sacks.
The number: 89. Plays Wisconsin ran, compared with 40 for Ohio State. Not that it mattered to the final score.
They’re still talking about: Ray Small’s 96-yard kickoff return, Ohio State’s first since Ted Ginn Jr. took back the opening kickoff in the 2007 BCS title game against Florida.
Looking ahead: Ohio State travels to 1-5 Purdue, while Wisconsin plays host to Iowa.
— Teddy Greenstein
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
