Ohio State Football: 3 keys to victory vs. Wisconsin in Week 9

3. Play a clean game

“Close games aren’t lost by one or two big plays, but the accumulation of small mistakes that add up.” After watching college football as closely as I have this season, that leaps out at you.

Most one-loss teams can look back to many small mistakes in critical moments that either cost them points on the scoreboard or gave their opponent an advantage to score points. Not turning the ball over, committing drive-killing or drive-extending penalties sounds cliché, or coach speak.

Here’s the funny things about clichés: sayings become clichés because they are truths that last over time. Here’s the truth about football, if you give the ball to the other team, stunt your ability to score or extend the opponent’s opportunity to score, you might lose.

Ohio State is better than Wisconsin in almost every area on the field, but they aren’t better by that much. If they don’t play clean, Wisconsin is good enough to beat them in Columbus. A clean game by Ohio State gives them the opportunity to score touchdowns, and get the Badgers’ offense off the field.

By virtue of clean play, Ohio State eliminates Wisconsin’s centerpiece: Jonathan Taylor.