GAME NOTES: Hoping to keep their perfect record intact, the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to Columbus for a pivotal Big Ten Conference affair. Bret Bielema's Badgers have won their last two games on the heels of a brief two-game slide to get back into the thick of the Big Ten race, although with both the Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines both sporting 5-0 league marks, climbing to the top of the conference will be difficult indeed. Wisconsin has dominated its last two opponents, whipping Northern Illinois and Indiana by a combined score of 77-6. The Hoosiers were the team's latest victims, falling in Madison last Saturday by a count of 33-3. As for the Buckeyes, they made what was thought to be a serious challenge last week at Penn State, seem easy as they routed the Nittany Lions in a 37-17 final. It was Ohio State's ninth straight win and Jim Tressel's team has now won a school- record 27 straight regular season games. Including this contest, OSU closes the regular slate against three teams (Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan) that own a combined record of 20-5 entering play this week. Ohio State has a commanding 50-17-5 edge in the all-time series with Wisconsin, but the teams are even in the last 11 meetings (5-5-1). The Badgers have claimed victory in each of their last three visits to Ohio Stadium and have won four of the last six meetings overall.

The Badgers used a bruising run game to batter the Hoosiers into submission last weekend, amassing 279 yards on the ground. P.J. Hill gained 57 yards and scored a TD on 12 carries, but was held out of the second half after suffering a bruised foot. As a result, Lance Smith led the UW ground attack with 79 yards and a pair of scores. Quarterback Tyler Donovan didn't need to do a whole lot beyond taking care of the football, and he finished 12-of-21 for 144 yards with an INT. The Badgers are averaging 30.1 ppg behind 418.4 ypg, getting near equal production from both the run (205.4 ypg) and pass (213.0 ypg). 21 of the team's 33 offensive TDs have come on the ground, with Hill accounting for 14 of them. He is averaging 118.4 ypg to rank fourth in the Big Ten and 15th nationally. As for Donovan, he is a 59.2 percent passer who has 12 TD passes against nine INTs. Travis Beckum is one of the top TEs in the country and he has been Donovan's primary target down the field this season, grabbing 53 balls for 625 yards and three scores.

The Wisconsin defense has turned up the heat in the last two games, dominating both Northern Illinois and Indiana. The Huskies were held to minus-13 yards rushing, while the Hoosiers were limited to just 258 total yards. Neither team scored more than three points, lowering the Badgers' season allowance to just 20.8 ppg. UW defenders proved to be an opportunistic bunch last week against Indiana, coming up with five turnovers, including three fumbles. Nick Hayden pounced on a pair of loose balls and Jonathan Casillas continued his stellar play by leading the team with 11 total stops, eight of which were solo efforts. Casillas is far and away the Badgers' top tackler on the season, checking in with 69 takedowns through nine games. Deandre Levy, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and Elijah Hodge each have 50 stops to their credit, while Matt Shaughnessy owns a club-best 10 TFLs.

Todd Boeckman threw for 253 yards and three TDs to lead Ohio State to what wound up being a relatively easy victory at Penn State last weekend. Boeckman, who has hit the mark on 66.5 percent of his passes this season for an average of 199.9 ypg with 21 TDs and only eight INTs, has been solid under center for Tressel's squad and simply gets the job done. It certainly helps that he has standout WR Brian Robiskie running routes down field, and Robiskie has responded by hauling in 41 balls for 787 yards and eight scores. The OSU rushing attack features Chris Wells, and he has shown his worth by producing 996 yards and seven TDs. Averaging 5.7 ypc, Wells took what had been a vaunted Penn State run defense to task last week, churning out 133 yards on 25 carries. The Buckeyes are lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of 34.6 ppg here in 2007, doing so behind 419.2 ypg. The Buckeyes simply don't wilt under pressure, converting 50 percent of their third down tries, while scoring on 91 percent of their trips to the red zone.

Led by impressive LB James Laurinaitis, the Ohio State defense has been rock- solid in allowing just 8.9 ppg and only 214.6 total ypg -- both of which rank the team first in the country. Laurinaitis has made 66 total tackles, four of which have been sacks, and he also has a pair of INTs to his credit. Marcus Freeman has performed exceptionally well this year, logging 62 stops, including a team-best 8.5 TFLs. The Buckeyes held the Nittany Lions in check last week, permitting the home team just 14 first downs and 263 yards of total offense. Two turnovers and two sacks helped the overall cause, as did the fact that the OSU defense was on the field for just over 22 minutes, including a mere 1:55 in the fourth quarter. Freeman led the OSU stand last week, making 14 tackles and he was responsible for two of the team's four TFLs.

The Badgers are playing well at the moment, but beating up on the likes of Northern Illinois and Indiana isn't exactly the same as taking on the No. 1 team in the land, on its own field no less. The Buckeyes are very good in just about every facet of the game, and so long as they limit the mistakes, they should be able to move to 10-0 with another satisfying win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio State 24, Wisconsin 14