Ohio State vs. Wisconsin football preview, prediction

Ohio State and Wisconsin meet in the Big Ten opener on Saturday. Ohio State is undefeated and has the No. 1 total offense in college football. Wisconsin has one loss and is playing behind the 8th best scoring defense.

The Buckeyes are loaded with skill pieces that can carve up almost any secondary. Marvin Harrison and Emeka Egbuka have 666 yards receiving and 8 TDs catches. TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams have 404 combined yards rushing. CJ Stroud is almost to 1,000 yards passing already with 11 TDs and almost 73% completion.

Wisconsin is 8th in the nation in defense, but it's down some key pieces in secondary. It has surrendered all of 1 TD pass while intercepting 7 of its own.

Jim Knowles' defense is getting better under his management. Wisconsin's front seven will line up against Braelon Allen, who has 5 touchdowns on 50 carries and is at nearly 7 ypc.

Ohio State has won 8 straight games over Wisconsin. Wisconsin is 50-9 when scoring first under Paul Chryst and 17-15 when not. Ohio State is 20-5 at home at night and won 9 of its last 10 games.

Wisconsin will limit how often the Buckeyes get the ball in their hands, but they can make up for that with a quick-strike offense unlike any other in college football. Ohio State wants to prove it's not just a pass-happy team and can win games the old fashioned way.