Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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Even for a program of Ohio State's stature, winning on the road in the Big Ten is rarely a piece of cake, but some venues are more formidable than others. That brings us to Camp Randall Stadium, the ancestral home of the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is always among the most physical teams in the conference, and the home crowds in Camp Randall are generally at a Cujo level of rabidity, especially at night.  The Buckeyes play in Camp Randall Saturday night, and today, Jesse looks back at the five greatest OSU/Wisconsin games played at Camp Randall. Even for a program of Ohio State's stature, winning on the road in the Big Ten is rarely a piece of cake, but some venues are more formidable than others. That brings us to Camp Randall Stadium, the ancestral home of the Wisconsin Badgers. Since 1980, Ohio State is 6-5-1 at Camp Randall, the program's second-worst record at any opposing stadium in that span, behind the Big House in Ann Arbor. (The Buckeyes are 3-5 at Beaver Stadium in Big Ten play, but Penn State didn't join the conference until 1993.) The Scarlet & Grey have won their fair share in Madison, but they rarely come easy: Wisconsin is always among the most physical teams in the conference, and the home crowds in Camp Randall are generally at a Cujo level of rabidity, especially at night.

In chronological order, here are five of the most dramatic and significant Ohio State-Wisconsin contests played at Camp Randall Stadium: 

October 24, 1953- Ohio State 20, Wisconsin 19: Led by fullback Alan "the Horse" Ameche, Wisconsin led Ohio State 19-7 going into the fourth quarter, only to see the Buckeyes score a pair of touchdowns, the second a 60-yard pass from Dave Leggett to Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, to pull the game out in dramatic fashion. Woody's early teams were a bane to the existence of the powerful Wisconsin squads of the ‘50s: Ohio State also beat the #1-ranked Badgers in Columbus in 1952, and knocked off the second-ranked Badgers on their way to the National Championship in 1954.

October 10, 1981- Wisconsin 24, Ohio State 21: Ex-Buckeye assistant Dave McClain got over on his former colleague Earle Bruce, as the Badgers scored a touchdown and a field goal in twenty-four seconds just prior to halftime and hung on for their first win over Ohio State since 1959. Wisconsin would continue to be a thorn in Earle's side throughout his tenure: the coach dropped five of his last seven meetings with the Badgers, including two defeats that directly cost the Buckeyes the Big Ten title in 1981 and in '82, when Wisky blanked Earle's troops 6-0 at the ‘Shoe.

November 6, 1993- Wisconsin 14, Ohio State 14: The undefeated, third-ranked Buckeyes rolled into Camp Randall looking to keep their national-title hopes alive against Barry Alvarez's revitalized Badgers, seeking their first Big Ten title in thirty-one years. Wisconsin took a 14-7 lead midway through the third quarter and had the Buckeyes pinned at their own one with less than five minutes remaining when backup quarterback Bret Powers led a four-play, 99-yard drive to tie the game. The Badgers drove to the Ohio State 15, but Marlon Kerner blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt, preserving the 14-14 deadlock.

October 19, 2002- Ohio State 19, Wisconsin 14: Anthony Davis became the first and only back to break the 100-yard mark against the magnificent 2002 Buckeye defense, but it wasn't enough for the Badgers to knock Ohio State off the National Championship track. Craig Krenzel hooked up twice with Michael Jenkins on long passes, the first a 47-yard touchdown three plays into the game, the second a 45-yard bomb that set up OSU's winning score early in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes used the power running of Maurice Clarett (133 yards on thirty carries) to put away the victory in the closing minutes.

October 11, 2003- Wisconsin 17, Ohio State 10: In a bitterly contested game played at night under a cold rain, the Badgers overcame the loss of quarterback Jim Sorgi- choked out of the lineup by Robert Reynolds- to break Ohio State's 19-game winning streak. Substitute quarterback Matt Schabert froze Chris Gamble with a play-action fake and hit a wide-open Lee Evans for the game-winning, 79-yard touchdown with 5:20 left. Gamble, one of the heroes of the 2002 National Championship, had a particularly tough night- not only was he roasted for the deciding touchdown; he also muffed a punt that set up a Wisconsin field goal earlier in the game.