A week after a last minute loss to Michigan State on a Hail Mary pass, the Wisconsin Badgers fell victim to another last-second touchdown at the hands of Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes. Devin Smith caught a 40-yard pass from Braxton Miller with 20 seconds remaining as the Ohio State Buckeyes shocked the 12th-ranked Badgers, 33-29.
The final five minutes were full of excitement as the Badgers erased a 12-point deficit. Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to Jared Abbrederis on consecutive drives.
A 42-yard return by Jordan Hall on the kickoff put Ohio State in excellent position for a potential tying field goal. The Buckeyes, though, moved ahead when Braxton Miller rolled to his right (in Terrelle Pryoresque fashion) and was able to get the ball off before passing the line of scrimmage (which was reviewed) and found Smith for the TD.
Coach Luke Fickell said that Miller “walked out there in the last minute and ten seconds and he looked at me and winked” – Wow talk about confidence! “I felt good about it. That’s what you need,” Fickell said. “You’ve got to have confidence in what you’re doing. You have to have belief in what you’re doing.”
He also said “We don’t ever look at ourselves as underdogs. This is a huge win, a signature win. This is for this team, this is for this program. This is what we expect.”
This was definitely Braxton Miller’s breakout game going 7-of-12 passes for 89 yards and added 99 yards on the ground with 2 scores. Dan Herron ran for 160 yards on 33 carries.
This was a huge win for the Buckeyes and especially for Braxton Miller early in his career.
The Buckeyes have now won 2 straight and look to keep the momentum going as they play Indiana this week.
Penn State is the only team unbeaten in the Big Ten as they barely escaped Illinois but will certainly be getting a rude awakening during the month of November with a much more difficult schedule. Right now the Big Ten title is definitely up in the air.
Luke Fickell Postgame Conference
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