Wisconsin struck at the heart of the Buckeyes with a game-opening special teams touchdown and then rolled all over them behind a devastating offensive line.
UPDATED: 12:23 a.m.
Ohio State's Dane Sanzenbacher paid the price for this third-quarter reception, but he and the rest of the Buckeyes could never get their equilibrium in falling hard from No. 1 in a 31-18 loss to Aaron Henry (7) and the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday night.• OSU report card | Best and worst | On the clock
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MADISON, Wis. -- An Ohio State game hadn't felt like this since "41-14," since the undefeated No. 1 Buckeyes were dismantled by the Florida Gators in a national championship loss after the 2006 season that created a numeric shorthand for OSU pain.
Saturday night at Wisconsin, at least undefeated No. 1 Ohio State fought back. The final score wasn't so lopsided.
But in the way that the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers struck at the heart of the Buckeyes with a game-opening special teams touchdown and then rolled all over them behind a devastating offensive line, this 31-18 loss at Camp Randall Stadium will sting the OSU football program almost as much.
"The bottom line is we didn't play like we should have," said OSU senior defensive tackle Dexter Larimore, "like the No. 1 team in the country should play."
This wasn't the Purdue upset last season, when a young OSU football fell victim to its own hubris as much as to an underdog. This wasn't even the 2007 Illinois loss, when an Ohio State team that was surprising many people with a national title chase lost after an 10-0 start -- and then still found a way into the national title game.
This was like 2006. This was a perfect, top-ranked Ohio State team that had been gearing toward the national championship since the first day of preseason, if not since the day after their Rose Bowl win, having its legs cut out.
The hopes for a national title were snuffed out almost as completely as they were that January night in Arizona.
"It kind of feels like your dreams are slipping away," senior running back and captain Brandon Saine said. "But we know anything can happen in college football, and we've got to finish out the season well."
OSU coach Jim Tressel, of course, said the Buckeyes (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) weren't thinking about anything other than how to get better tomorrow, and there's plenty that should keep the Buckeyes busy, especially on defense.
Wisconsin controlled the game on the lines in the first half while storming to a 21-3 lead, and the Badgers out-gained Ohio State, 336 yards to 311 in the game and 184 yards to 155 on the ground.
"They lined up toe-to-toe and just beat us," senior linebacker Brian Rolle said. "It was like, 'Did they really just do what I think they did?' They just ran and ran. They didn't trick us."
"If I had to bet, it wasn't anything earthshaking," Tressel said. "It was just execution."
It started from the first kick, which Wisconsin's David Gilreath returned 97 yards for a touchdown, the fourth special-teams touchdown and second kickoff return for a touchdown allowed by the Buckeyes this season.
"It's definitely frustrating," said Saine, who was part of that kick coverage. "It was huge for them to start off the game like that and it kind of depleted us. We tried to regroup but it didn't happen until the second half."
That's because the Badgers (6-1, 2-1) didn't let up, putting together time-consuming 58- and 89-yard drives while surging to a 21-0 lead, the OSU defense almost helpless to stop them.
"We got our butts kicked," senior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said.
When the Buckeyes answered in the second quarter, they were held to a field goal after three runs from the 4 that didn't come close to working. But it did get better later for the Buckeyes, who scored touchdowns on their first two drives in the second half and cut the lead to 21-18 by converting a 2-point conversion after the second score.
"I was proud of the way the kids fought back," Tressel said. "It was 21-18 and it felt like we had a bit of momentum."
That was crushed by the Wisconsin offensive line and by quarterback Scott Tolzien, who completed three passes early in what would be a 10-play, 73-yard drive that gave the Badgers a 28-18 lead with 6:57 to play.
When the Buckeyes were forced into a fourth-and-10 on their next drive from their own 29, Tressel elected to punt with just over six minutes left, after talking about going for it, and the Badgers salted away the win with another scoring drive.
Unlike the 2006 team, the Buckeyes have more games left to redeem themselves. But it's very likely they won't reach the goals this season that the players, and a lot of fans, thought were there for the taking after a 6-0 start.
"It hurts," center Mike Brewster said.
As Tressel was speaking at the postgame podium, he was interrupted from an announcement over the Camp Randall speakers.
"For your safety, please get off the goalposts," begged the announcer, unable to stop a sea of red that had swarmed the field after the win.
That's just how the Ohio State defense had felt for 60 minutes.