An early misplay from an unusual formation was not a good omen for Ohio State.
UPDATED: 12:31 a.m.
When the Buckeyes attempted to use the "pistol" formation, they shot themselves in the foot -- as Dan Herron had to scramble to recover a wayward pitch from Terrelle Pryor in the first quarter.MADISON, Wis. -- The best and worst from a memorable night in Camp Randall.
Worst formation/The pistol: The Buckeyes broke out the look they first tried in 2008, albeit briefly, on their first drive on the game.
One first-and-10 from the 43, on their second offensive play, the Buckeyes lined up in the shorter shotgun, with Terrelle Pryor closer to the line and Dan Herron directly behind him. The Buckeyes then ran an option left, and Pryor's pitch to Herron was high, hit the ground and had to be knocked out of bounds by a diving Herron to keep possession.
The play went for a 12-yard loss, and for an offense that had seemed to develop a pretty good identity in the first six games of the season, it seemed odd to come out with something out of the ordinary so early.
Best formation/The wildcat: Well, the first time is was a miserable failure. The Buckeyes tried it from the 3 in the first half and got nowhere, Dan Herron lining up in the shotgun with Pryor split out as a receiver. Herron took the direct snap and gained only a yard.
But the second time was better. On a first down from the 13 on the opening drive of the second half, when another field goal try would have been failure, Pryor split out wide again and Herron again took a direct snap. This time, he sliced off left tackle, took care of one tackle attempt with a stiff arm, and hit the end zone to cut Wisconsin's lead to 21-10.
Best catch: On third-and-6 from the 37, Ohio State needed another first down to keep a drive alive, with the Wisconsin lead still at 21-10 late in the third quarter. Pryor rolled to his right, multiple Badgers in pursuit, then lofted a ball back over the middle of the field.
Senior Dane Sanzenbacher, who had suffered a concussion on a big hit at Camp Randall Stadium two years ago, went high to grab the pass and was knocked nearly upside down as he tumbled to the turf. But he held on for the 9-yard gain and the first down.
Worst feel for the game: Bowled over by Wisconsin's blockers all game, pancaked as often as the bill of fare at the IHOP, Ohio State's only chance to win was to convert a fourth-and-10 at its own 29 with 6:29 to play, down 10 points.
Instead, Jim Tressel ordered a punt, hoping for a turnover to switch the field poisiton. The hope was that a game-long trend of ruthless Badger offensive efficiency would suddenly reverse itself. But a long game of keep-away -- converting the fourth-and-long, scoring a touchdown, and then recovering an onside kick -- looked like a better shot. That's how overwhelmed the OSU defense was.
Bill Livingston contributed to this report.