Those are the words from Wisconsin radio announcer Matt Lepay after the Badgers kick returner David Gilreath returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against top-ranked Ohio State. College Gameday was there once again and No. 18 Wisconsin was hosting No. 1 Ohio State. This was the first time the Badgers had hosted a top-ranked team since 1997. The Buckeyes were the new No. 1 team after Alabama lost the previous week 35-21 at South Carolina. Ohio State was rolling in at 6-0, having won every game by double digits. Wisconsin would jump out to a 21-0 lead on the strength of Gilreath and running back John Clay. The Buckeyes would come back and cut it to 21-18, but Wisconsin would make a big-time drive and end it with a James White touchdown. The Badgers would win 31-18 and the crowd stormed the field. It would be the second week of three consecutive weeks that the top team in the country would go down. This was Bret Bielema’s biggest win at Wisconsin and would propel the Badgers to the Rose Bowl.
Wisconsin was in need of a good start against the No. 1 team. The Buckeyes had struggled up to that point in 2010 in kickoff coverage. Ohio State allowed a kickoff return touchdown to Miami’s Lamar Miller in the Buckeyes 36-24 win over the Hurricanes a month before. On this date, it was Gilreath who would make the play. It was a night game, Ohio State was No. 1 and College Gameday was there. The crowd was already jacked up, but Gilreath would help turn it up to a new level. It would also be a reminder to late-arriving students to get to the game on time. Drew Basil’s kickoff for Ohio State was fielded by Gilreath at the 3. When reaching the 20, he cut to his right and found a seam. He exploded through the hole and was off to the races. Nobody on Ohio State would catch Gilreath and the Badgers would have their great start. Despite being one of the best return men in Wisconsin history, this was his only kickoff return for a touchdown as a Badger. It was not a bad time for it.
The confidence only grew as the Badgers would force a punt on Ohio State’s first possession. Terrelle Pryor threw a pass to DeVier Posey for a first down on the first snap, but would go backward after that and would have to punt to Gilreath, who would have a nice 13-yard punt return to the Wisconsin 42. The Badgers would then drive 58 yards in six plays, with Wisconsin gashing the Buckeyes defense on the ground with Clay. The big running back would have 51 yards alone on the drive on five carries. His last two carries on the drive were a 16-yard run down to the 14, and that was followed immediately by a 14-yard score. On the touchdown, the offensive line opened up a gaping hole and Clay blasted through the hole and went untouched to give the Badgers the 14-0 lead just five minutes into the game. Ohio State had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 29 games, but Clay ran for 104 yards on 21 carries to snap the streak.
The Buckeyes would move into Badgers territory on the next possession on the strength of Pryor’s legs. His 22-yard run on the first play moved the ball near midfield. He would also rush for a gain of six to pick up a first down three plays later. However, Pryor would throw three consecutive incompletions and Ohio State was forced to give up the ball to the red-hot Wisconsin offense.
The plan was much of the same on the next drive for the Badgers. Wisconsin was not picking up big chunks of yards like last drive, but it was just as effective. On this drive, Bucky mixed in some James White to go along with Clay. This drive began at their own 11 and the Badgers drove 89 yards in 19 plays. The Badgers would dink and dunk their way to seven first downs on the the drive. Clay would rush seven times on the drive for 23 yards, while White had 20 yards on seven carries. Whenever the Badgers needed a big play on the drive, Tolzien would make a big throw. He was 4-of-4 on the possession for 40 yards, including an 18-yard pass to Gilreath on a 3rd-and-6 to give the Badgers a 1st-and-Goal. He also had a first down on a quarterback sneak on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Three plays later, Clay would dive in from a yard out and Wisconsin took a commanding 21-0 lead. The Badgers outgained Ohio State an incredible 122-35 in the first quarter.
The Buckeyes would get three back on the following drive. Dan Herron would rush for 38 yards on the drive, while Pryor would rush for 20 of his own. However, once Ohio State moved it to the Wisconsin 3, the Badgers defense stood tall. Two Pryor rushes and a carry by Herron would lose one yard and Devin Barclay kicked a 21-yard field goal to get Ohio State on the board.
The Badgers made their first mistake of the game late in the second quarter. On a 2nd-and-14 at his own 42, Tolzien threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Ohio State linebacker Andrew Sweat, who returned inside the Badgers 40. A very questionable personal foul on Lance Kendricks moved the ball to the 23. But after two plays and one yard, Ohio State was faced with a 3rd-and-9 at the Wisconsin 22. Enter J.J. Watt. The star defensive end would sack Pryor for a loss of six on the third down play, forcing a 45-yard field goal attempt, which was missed. The score would remain 21-3 the remainder of the half.
Top-ranked Ohio State would wake up in a big way in the third quarter. Pryor would convert a third down with a pass to Dane Sanzenbacher for a first down on a gain of 11. Sanzenbacher would also have another nice gain of 24 to move down to the Badgers 26. From there, Pryor would rush for 13 and Herron would follow with another 13-yard run and a touchdown to cut it to 21-10.
The Badgers would have to punt on the next possession after moving into Ohio State territory. The Buckeyes would stop Clay on a 3rd-and-2 and force Bucky to punt. Brad Nortman would pin Ohio State deep in its own territory on the punt at the 6. Ohio State’s offense would stay hot as the Buckeyes would travel 94 yards in 19 plays to cut the Wisconsin lead down to 21-18. The drive took nearly 10 minutes off the clock and would end three and a half minutes into the fourth. Two passes by Pryor for 32 yards to Posey and Sanzenbacher moved the ball to the Badgers 41. From there, Ohio State inched forward the rest of the way. The Buckeyes would convert three third downs on the drive that would end with a Herron 1-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was also successful on a pass from Pryor to Reid Fragel.
With their backs against the wall, the Badgers would embark on the biggest drive of their season. The biggest play was a 3rd-and-3 from the Wisconsin 34. With Wisconsin facing the possibility of going three-and-out and giving the ball back to the white-hot offense of the Buckeyes, the senior quarterback made one of the biggest throws of his career. Tolzien threw a strike to Nick Toon along the sideline for 20 yards into Ohio State territory. From that point on, there was no stopping Bucky’s offense on the drive. The Badgers would not face another third down on the possession and White would come of age. The future Super Bowl hero would catch a 9-yard pass for a first down and then would run three consecutive plays to put the ball into the end zone. On the first down from the 12, Tolzien would hand it off to White, who would run around the left side and slip a tackle and go into the end zone. The score gave Wisconsin a 28-18 lead with seven minutes remaining.
Ohio State would travel into Wisconsin territory on its last drive, but Blake Sorensen would end the game. Pryor was going deep over the middle, but it was underthrown and Sorensen picked it off and the Badgers took a knee to win the game. After losing at Michigan State in the conference opener, this win got Bucky right back in the thick of the conference title race. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State would all tie for the conference title, but the Badgers went to Pasadena due to being the highest ranked team in the BCS standings.
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