Ohio State vs. Wisconsin score: Live game updates, college football scores today, NCAA top 25 highlights

Live scores, highlights and analysis as the Buckeyes travel to Camp Randall Stadium to face the Badgers

Wisconsin's defense under pressure

Wisconsin has been aided to this point by a failed Ohio State fourth down attempt and a costly Kyle McCord interception. Now, the Badgers have their back against the wall defensively following yet another three-and-out from the offense. Time of possession is getting lopsided in the Buckeyes' favor, and fatigue could be an issue for Wisconsin.

Feed Marvin Harrison Jr. 

Ohio State is banged up on the offensive side of the ball. Emeka Egbuka was a pregame scratch and Julian Fleming left in the first quarter after taking a big hit. That leaves Marvin Harrison Jr. as Ohio State's most experienced wide receiver on the field. Not that that's a problem. He just took a short crossing route 16 yards for a touchdown to put the Buckeyes up 10-0 early in the second quarter. Teams could do a lot worse than having to rely on Harrison, arguably the best wide receiver in college football and an expected top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

This Wisconsin offense is tough to watch

Wisconsin is off to a woeful offensive start. It now looks like this: fumble, punt, missed field goal, punt. Such is life with an inexperienced quarterback in Braedyn Locke while facing a talented defense like Ohio State. He is just 1 of 7 for 5 yards. Braelon Allen has been somewhat effective with five carries for 25 yards. But space to run will be hard to find if Wisconsin cannot make Ohio State respect the pass.

McCord makes huge mistake

End 1Q: Ohio State 3, Wisconsin 0

Ohio State was stringing along a nice drive, and even got gifted first-and-goal on Wisconsin's 8-yard line after a defensive penalty, but then quarterback Kyle McCord made a huge mistake. McCord rolled to his right after faking a handoff and threw and tried to force a pass into the end zone. Wisconsin safety Preston Zachman hopped in front of the ball and picked it off, ending either team's best scoring opportunity of the night thus far. 

Ohio State still holds a narrow lead after the first 15, but the Buckeyes left plenty of opportunities on the field. Wisconsin missed a field goal, sent a kickoff out of bounds and fumbled on its first offensive snap. Ohio State has just three points to show for all that. 

Ohio State loses another receiver

The Buckeyes entered Saturday's game short on receiving options, with Emeka Egbuka seemingly out for a third-straight game, and now Julian Fleming is on the sideline. Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord tried to hit Fleming deep, but Fleming was unable to hold on through a big hit. He was slow to get up and immediately went to the sideline, where broadcast cameras caught trainers working on him. Freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate entered the game in Fleming's stead. 

Wisconsin playing messy football

Wisconsin hasn't had to pay (in a major way, at least) for any of its mistakes so far, but they're starting to mount. The Badgers have two fumbles -- both from star running back Braelon Allen. One led to a Buckeyes field goal, while Wisconsin was able to jump on another one. The Badgers also have two offensive penalties, both of which put them behind the chains. On special teams, Wisconsin put a kickoff out of bounds -- again, Ohio State couldn't capitalize for any points -- and the Badgers just missed a field goal that would have tied the game at 3-3. 

Ohio State takes the lead

Ohio State was able to capitalize off the defense's big play. The Buckeyes took over on their own 45-yard line and moved the ball deep into Wisconsin territory thanks to a big run from TreVeyon Henderson, who is playing for the first time in three weeks. The Buckeyes got a few more yards on their next plays and set up a 27-yard field goal for kicker Jayden Fielding, who knocked it through to give his team an early 3-0 lead. Wisconsin would like if its next drive was longer than one play, for the defense's sake. 

Swapping turnovers

Leave it to Ohio State's defense to come up with an answer. After the Buckeyes fumbled the ball away in Wisconsin territory, their defense came up huge and forced a fumble on Wisconsin's first offensive play. Edge rusher Jack Sawyer got a hand in on running back Braelon Allen, who lost the ball. Cornerback Davison Igbinosun came up for the recovery, giving Ohio State the ball back at its own 44-yard line. 

Wisconsin defense comes up big

Ohio State got the ball first and went for it on fourth-and-3 from Wisconsin's 33-yard line. Kyle McCord dropped back to pass and immediately came under pressure. Before he could get the ball out, linebacker C.J. Goetz got to him and forced a fumble. Maema Njongmeta jumped on it for the Badgers, giving his team some momentum to start out. 

Ohio State gets things started

Wisconsin won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, which means Ohio State will get things started in this key Big Ten clash. The Buckeyes are mostly healthy on offense, with running back TreVeyon Henderson back and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka possibly suiting up. A hot start would be beneficial for Ohio State, as it likely wants to neutralize a rowdy crowd in Camp Randall. 

All eyes on Egbuka

While Ohio State is set to get one offensive standout back in TreVeyon Henderson, the status of star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is still in the air. Egbuka missed Ohio State's last two games after suffering a lower body injury on Oct. 7's win against Maryland. Egbuka is on the field warming up ahead of the Wisconsin game, though he warmed up last week before ultimately remaining on the sideline against Penn State. His return would be huge for a Ohio State passing game that has had to lean on Marvin Harrison Jr. more than normal. 

A look back

As already noted, Ohio State has been quite dominant in this series' recent history. The Buckeyes have nine wins in a row, and have come out triumphant in 12 out of the last 13 contests. Ohio State hasn't played in Madison since 2016 and narrowly escaped with a 30-23 overtime victory. Of the four contests between the two since then, two were played in Columbus, Ohio and two were for the Big Ten Championship. 

As for Wisconsin, the Badgers only have 18 in 85 total games against the Buckeyes in series history. Eleven of those wins have come within the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers also have four wins in the series since the turn of the century. 

Ohio State strong against unranked squads

Ohio State's 35-straight wins against unranked teams is the longest streak in the nation and includes 15 straight road wins. Just in case that isn't impressive enough, the Buckeyes have also won 26 straight against unranked Big Ten teams and 15 straight games against anybody from the Big Ten West. As you'd expect after reading that, it's been a while since the Badgers pulled off a win in this series. The last time it happened was a 31-18 win in Madison during the 2010 season. Back then, Jim Tressel was coaching the Buckeyes and Bret Bielema (now at Illinois) was coaching Wisconsin. Oh, and Fickell? He was the co-defensive coordinator on that Ohio State staff. The following season Fickell would serve as Ohio State's interim head coach. Anyway, it's been nine straight losses for the Badgers since.

Don't expect many points 

Betting the under has been an extremely profitable proposition with the Buckeyes. It's gone 6-1 in their first seven games because the market hasn't seemed to catch onto the fact that the offense isn't great and the defense is elite. The average betting total in Ohio State games this yea has been 56 points. The average Ohio State game has finished with 43.7 points, nearly two full touchdowns below the betting line. This week's total is much lower, but I still expect we'll see these teams struggle to reach it. Pick: Under 44.5

Ohio State set to get star back

Ohio State coach Ryan Day called running back TreVeyon Henderson a "full go" against Wisconsin. Henderson missed the last three weeks with an unspecified injury, though he was a common fixture during Ohio State's warmups. Despite his time spent on the sideline, Henderson is still Ohio State's leading rusher with 295 yards and five touchdowns. He was averaging 6.7 yards per carry prior to the injury. No other Ohio State rusher with at least 40 carries is averaging more than 4.5 yards per touch. The former freshman All-American should re-introduce an effective rushing dimension to Ohio State's offensive attack, something the Buckeyes lacked with Henderson out.

Locke in line to start again 

Wisconsin will likely start former Mississippi State transfer Braedyn Locke at quarterback again. Locke took over when Tanner Mordecai exited with a hand injury against Iowa and got his first career start last week against Illinois. He led the Badgers to a come-from-behind win -- putting up 18 points in the fourth quarter -- while completing 51.2% of his passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown, a 3-yard pass to offensive lineman Nolan Rucci on a trick play, gave the Badgers their decisive 25-21 lead. The bad news for Locke is that he now has to go against an Ohio State pass defense that ranks fourth in the Big Ten while allowing 159.6 yards per game. 

Ohio State looks to keep pace on the road

No. 3 Ohio State enters Camp Randall Stadium as a two-touchdown favorite with Kyle McCord and the Buckeyes' improving defense looking to continue surging ahead of the first College Football Playoff Rankings release of the 2023 season. Star running back TreVeyon Henderson is back for an OSU team that has been far less effective on the ground with him absent, though Marvin Harrison Jr. (42 receptions, 766 yards, six touchdowns) and the Buckeyes' strong receiving corps has kept the offense rolling.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from an offense-deficient loss to Iowa in which the teams combined for 21 points yet the Badgers still lost by nine. Wisconsin has been handled by the top two opponents its faced this season in year 1 under Luke Fickell, who gets to coach against his former team in a key game for UW.