Deja Vu: Unblemished No. 1 OSU Visits Wisconsin

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

We all know what happened the last time Ohio State took an undefeated and top-ranked team to Wisconsin.

It was just four months ago that the Buckeyes staggered home from Madison, battered, bruised and, most notably, beaten. OSU's singular loss last fall cost it a chance to compete for college football's national championship.

Fortunately, this is college basketball, where perfection is nice and all, but falling short of it neither deems a season a failure nor eliminates a team from championship contention.

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One-Loss Teams: Wisconsin Is The Best

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Wisconsin is the best one-loss team in college football. There, I said it.

Stanford is nice, but the Cardinal are this year's version of last year's Oregon team in that Jim Harbaugh's offense hasn't faced too many tough defenses.

Speaking of defense, LSU's current unit is reminiscent of its 2007 championship D, but its offense is awful and the Tigers would need a lot more than the luck they've relied on far too often in 2010 to beat the Badgers.

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Ohio State already has lost to Wisconsin and I think the Badgers would beat the Buckeyes if

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OGS Spotlight Game Of The Week: Ohio State At Wisconsin

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Terrelle Pryor as an X factor?

Yes, that's exactly what he'll be in Ohio State's first road test this season at Wisconsin Saturday night.

Usually, the X factor is a lesser-known player or an inconsistent element about a particular team, not a high-profile Heisman candidate.

For example, you might hear something as specific as "Their kickoff coverage will be the X factor" to describe a squad that's allowed too many big plays on special teams as it prepares to face an opponent whose roster boasts some dangerous return specialists.

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No. 14: Wisconsin Badgers

The One Great Season College Football Countdown continues Tuesday. We'll be counting down the preseason Top 25 teams in 2010. Today's No. 14 is Wisconsin.

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Not normally known as an offensive juggernaut, Wisconsin returns 10 starters from a unit that scored 32 points a game last year.

The Badgers also rolled up 417 yards a game, thanks in large part to tailback and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year John Clay. He'll again be the workhorse for this stacked Badgers' offense. But quarterback Scott Tolzien returns, as does potential star wideout Nick Toon. Three offensive linemen -- Gabe Carimi, Josh Oglesby and John Moffitt -- will be among the league's best.

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Wednesday Hoops Notebook: Badgers Ready To Pounce

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

After Tuesday's convincing defeat of Michigan State, Wisconsin (17-5, 7-3 Big Ten) has a very favorable remaining schedule down the stretch. The Badgers already have split with Purdue and Ohio State, and the toughest league opponent left for them is Illinois, which Wisconsin will play twice. Two games against Indiana also await, as do games against Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa.

The Badgers seem to be rounding into form as they await the return of Jon Leuer. Left on Michigan State's schedule are road dates at Illinois and Purdue, as well as home games against Ohio State and Purdue. And Sparty (19-4, 9-1) might have to play without reigning Big Ten Player Of The Year Kalin Lucas, who left Tuesday's game with a badly sprained ankle.

With Purdue getting healthy and Ohio State playing some nice basketball, the conference race just got a lot more interesting.

TWITTER NOTES: Here's a sign that we are definitely living in an interesting time: Ohio State star Evan Turner, whose Twitter handle is @thekidet, offered up a sympathetic note ("glad u ain't get hurt on that fall my dude") to Syracuse star Wesley Johnson -- @W_Johnson -- after Johnson landed very awkwardly during Tuesday's game against Providence.

Shortly after Syracuse wrapped up the easy win, Johnson, who ended up being OK, reciprocated: "Appreciate it bro."

TEXAS BOAST: I know it's just one win, but I think Texas has broken free from its slump. You barely heard the names Damion James, Avery Bradley, Dexter Pittman or J'Covan Brown on Monday night's broadcast, yet the Longhorns beat a decent Oklahoma State team on the road by a dozen. That's impressive, as was Jordan Hamilton's second-half scoring spree.

UCONN'T HANDLE THIS TRUTH: Connecticut isn't struggling because its coach, Jim Calhoun, is on medical leave. The Huskies are struggling because they're just not as good as they usually are. Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson are nice guards, but there's not much else about UConn that excites me.