College football’s top 5 matchups of Week 9

5. No. 3 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin – Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC

Ohio State and Wisconsin have battled for quite some time as Big Ten rivals, playing 85 games since 1913. The Buckeyes have dominated the series with a 62-18-5 record, but Wisconsin has pulled off memorable upsets in recent history, including in 2003 and 2010. However, the 2010 game was the Badgers’ last victory in the series as the Buckeyes have won nine in a row, including three Big Ten Championship games.

Last season, the Buckeyes throttled the Badgers 52-21 in Columbus, and should come into this weekend’s contest as multi-score favorites again. Ohio State is a perfect 7-0 on the year and is coming off one of its best victories of the season after beating No. 7 Penn State last weekend. It was the second win against a top-10 opponent for the Buckeyes who beat Notre Dame back in Week 4. Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. have combined to form the nation’s 14th-ranked passing offense, but what should continue to lead Ohio State in Madison and beyond is the Buckeyes’ fourth-ranked total defense led by standout linebacker Tommy Eichenberg.

Wisconsin will come into this game as a longshot to win, but the Badgers do currently lead the Big Ten West thanks to a thrilling, come-from-behind win over Illinois last week, combined with Iowa’s controversial loss to Minnesota. The Badgers haven’t been anything special in Luke Fickell’s first year at the helm, but have gotten off to a decent 5-2 start with their only losses coming to the aforementioned Hawkeyes and Washington State. Running back Braelon Allen is the star for the Badgers and he will be tasked with a heavy workload as Wisconsin starts Braedyn Locke for the second consecutive week in place of the injured Tanner Mordecai. It would certainly be a tall order, but an upset against Fickell’s alma mater is not impossible.