Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Chris Wells ran for 169 yards and scored three second-half touchdowns, helping top-ranked Ohio State rally from a third- quarter deficit and pull away for a 38-17 victory over Wisconsin at Ohio Stadium.

Wells ripped off scoring runs of 31 and 30 yards on consecutive Ohio State possessions to turn a 17-10 Wisconsin lead into a seven-point Buckeye edge. He added a 23-yard touchdown jaunt late in the fourth quarter to seal it.

Todd Boeckman also threw a pair of touchdown passes to Brian Robiskie for the Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten), who won their 20th straight conference game to set a Big Ten record. Michigan held the old mark of 19 set between 1990-92.

"We knew it would be a battle and it was just that," said Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. "Anything that came our way in terms of adversity our guys handled. We are awfully proud of the way we got after it. I don't know if it was our greatest performance, but we ended up winning and we have a chance to fight another round."

Ohio State will host Illinois next week before visiting Ann Arbor for the traditional season-finale with Michigan.

Tyler Donovan threw a pair of touchdown passes for Wisconsin (7-3, 3-3), which had beaten up on Indiana and Northern Illinois in the past two games at home after road losses to Illinois and Penn State. The Badgers had won their three previous trips to Columbus, but hadn't played at the Horseshoe since 2004.

Wisconsin, again without injured running back P.J. Hill, managed only 12 yards rushing. Ohio State's defense came up with 10 sacks, including four by Vernon Gholston.

Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis finished the game with 19 tackles and one big one on special teams.

After Wells' second scoring run gave Ohio State the lead, the Badgers tried a fake punt for the second time on the day from inside their own 30-yard line. Laurinaitis, though, stuffed punter Ken DeBauche short of the first-down marker.

Boeckman followed soon after with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Robiskie, who made a neat one-handed grab, with 10:05 to play in the contest for a 31-17 cushion. Following a Wisconsin fumble inside its own 25 late in the fourth, Wells scored on a 23-yard run to account for the final margin.

"It starts up front and our guys did a good job up front and our quarterback did a good job getting us the right looks and [Wells] was breaking tackles at the second level, and when you have all that going for you, you're going to seize back control of the game," said Tressel. "When we began to be able to run a little bit more, we seized control of the game."

Wisconsin trailed 10-3 at the intermission, but scored a pair of touchdowns to grab the lead in the third quarter.

The Badgers started the first possession of the second half from their own eight-yard line, but drove the length of the field in just six plays for the tying score. A 50-yard pass to Paul Hubbard set up a first down at the Ohio State 13, and after an incomplete pass and a penalty, Travis Beckum made a brilliant diving catch in the back of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown to tie it.

Wisconsin got the ball back after an Ohio State punt and marched 62 yards for another score. Chris Pressley put the finishing touches on the drive with a two-yard TD catch to give the Badgers a 17-10 advantage.

The Buckeyes, though, responded with an 80-yard drive. Other than a pass that went for no gain, Ohio State did its damage on the ground and Wells finished the series with a 31-yard touchdown jaunt with 2:41 to play in the third quarter.

Wells made a nice cutback to race up the left sideline to score the tying touchdown, then made a similar move on his 30-yard TD run that put the Buckeyes in front on their next possession.

The Buckeyes took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on seven plays for the game's first score. Boeckman started the series with an 18-yard pass to Brian Hartline and finished it by converting 3rd-and-8 with a 30-yard touchdown strike to Robiskie.

Wisconsin started its opening possession its own eight-yard line and moved to the 47 before facing 4th-and-12. The Badgers went with a fake punt and 31-yard pass to the Ohio State 22 kept the drive alive, leading to a 21-yard field goal by Taylor Mehlhaff.

Neither team threatened again until late in the second quarter, although Ohio State appeared to recover a fumbled punt with just under four minutes left in the half. David Gilreath was drilled and lost the football, but a video review determined he lost the ball only after his knee had already touched the turf.

The Badgers were forced to punt with two minutes to play and the Buckeyes quickly moved into Wisconsin territory on a 45-yard pass from Boeckman to Hartline, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius that gave Ohio State a 10-3 edge heading to the break.

Hartline finished with seven catches for 95 yards, while Boeckman completed 17-of-28 passes for 166 yards.