Ohio State vs. Wisconsin 2016 live stream: How to watch online

No. 2 Ohio State faces its stiffest test of the season on Saturday night in Madison, where No. 8 Wisconsin lurks off a bye week. The Badgers lost 14-7 two weeks ago at Michigan and are a significant home underdog, but they’re well-coached and won’t buckle nearly as quickly as most of the Buckeyes’ opponents this year.

So far, the Buckeyes have set fire to everything in their path. They’ve won two of their five games by 21 points, and everything else has been even more of a blowout than that. Wisconsin stands a good chance of staying inside that margin, but actually winning, even at home, is a hell of a tall order. It’ll require a virtuoso effort to slow down a J.T. Barrett-led offense, and we’ve yet to see any indication that Wisconsin’s so-so offense can pierce the Buckeyes’ athletic defense.

It’ll be fun to watch them try, though. It’s a night kickoff at Camp Randall, and on a weekend without a lot of terrific games, this has a chance to be a terrific game.*

*unless Ohio State ruins it by running up a four-touchdown lead in the first half.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC. The broadcasters are Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Samantha Ponder.

Radio: Ohio State and Wisconsin

Online streaming: WatchESPN

Spread: Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite.

Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Land-Grant Holy Land (for Buckeyes fans) and Bucky’s 5th Quarter (for Badgers fans).

1. Wisconsin’s defense has been up to the challenge against talented offenses. LSU and Michigan found the end zone a combined three times against the Badgers, and even though LSU’s Cam Cameron-led offense turned out to be something of a disaster, the effort against Michigan established that the Badgers defense was serious. One thing that’ll be worth watching: Barrett’s an elite dual threat, which Wisconsin hasn’t seen yet. LSU’s Brandon Harris could run but not throw, and Michigan’s Wilton Speight can’t (or doesn’t) run. Barrett can do both, and he’s a different kind of challenge.

2. Still, it’s doubtful that Wisconsin can score enough to stay with the Buckeyes. Wisconsin is only scoring 26 points per game, and Ohio State’s defense is elite. The Buckeyes are scoring literally twice that, at 52 points on average. Wisconsin’s defense could have the game of its life and still leave the offense in need of more points than it could possibly find. That’s the nature of Wisconsin’s immense problem here.

3. Don’t underestimate Bucky at home. Camp Randall’s a hard place to play, and the Badgers are 7-2 there when they’re playing as a top-10 team against another top-10 team. Is that an obscure, potentially irrelevant number? Sure is! But this isn’t: 80,321, the capacity of a stadium that’s going to be bumping for the Badgers. Ohio State’s good enough to win in a brutal road environment, but this is the first time the Buckeyes will have to prove it. (It’s also the first of four OSU night games in a row, so I hope Buckeyes fans like late bedtimes.)