Ohio State-Wisconsin Preview Capsule

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No. 6 Ohio State (10-0, 6-0) at Wisconsin (7-3, 4-2), 3:35 p.m. (ABC/ESPN2)

Line: Wisconsin by 2½

Series Record: Ohio State leads 54-17-5

WHAT'S AT STAKE: Banned from the Big Ten title game and the postseason, the best the Buckeyes can hope for is to go undefeated. Wisconsin, meanwhile, wants to prove it didn't get into the Big Ten championship by default. Montee Ball is two touchdowns shy of breaking the major college career record, and he'd love nothing more than to reach the mark in his last game at Camp Randall Stadium.

KEY MATCHUP: DE John Simon and DL Johnathan Hankins will try to knot things up in the middle to force Ball outside the tackles.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Ohio State: QB Braxton Miller. As Miller goes, so go the Buckeyes. He's accounted for 66 percent -- 22,919 of 4,453 yards -- of Ohio State's offense, and has scored more than half the Buckeyes' touchdowns.

Wisconsin: Ball. With 77 career touchdowns, needs two more to break Travis Prentice's major college record. A Heisman Trophy finalist, he's recovered from his slow start to rush for 13 TDs and 866 yards over the last six games.

FACTS & FIGURES: The home team has won the last three meetings. ... Wisconsin has won its last nine games in November, outscoring opponents 474-152, and is 23-6 after Nov. 1 under coach Bret Bielema. ... This will be Ohio State coach Urban Meyer's first game against Wisconsin. He didn't face the Badgers when he was at Bowling Green, Utah or Florida. ... Meyer is 32-2 when having more than a week to prepare for a game. The Buckeyes were off last week. ... Two of Ohio State's longest winning streaks have ended in Madison. A 19-game winning streak, tied for second-longest in team history, ended with a 17-10 loss in 2003. A 13-game winning streak, the Buckeyes' sixth-longest, ended in a 7-7 tie in 1958. ... With Miller already over 1,000 yards rushing, Buckeyes RB Carlos Hyde needs 267 yards to join him.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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