COLUMBUS - Wisconsin sophomore John Clay was the Big Ten’s top running back coming into Saturday’s showdown with No. 9 Ohio State. The Buckeyes had the league’s top-ranked defense against the run.

Something had to give.

Unfortunately for the Badgers, it was Clay’s legs as Ohio State defenders pounded into him and sapped his will when he realized the Buckeyes had his number and he was not going to come anywhere close to his rushing average during Wisconsin’s 31-13 defeat at Ohio Stadium.

“Clay’s a great running back,” Buckeyes defensive end Cameron Heyward said. “But we just came out with a great defensive game plan today, and we attacked their running game on every play.”

Clay was averaging 134.7 yards per game before his meeting with the Buckeyes, who hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher over their past 15 games.

Make it 16.

Clay ran the ball 20 times for 59 yards - 3.0 yards per carry - and his longest gain was just 8 yards.

With their vaunted running attack shut down, the Badgers turned to junior quarterback Scott Tolzien, who completed a career-high 27 passes in a career-high 45 attempts. But most were for short gains or short passes that the receiver was able to turn into larger gains.

While they did a great job of not being hurt by the big play, the Buckeyes were the ones that lit up the scoreboard with highlight-reel performances. Yes, there were sacks, tackles in the backfield and passes batted harmlessly to the field turf.

But the plays that brought the Buckeye faithful to their feet were a pair of interception returns for touchdowns by senior strong safety Kurt Coleman and junior free safety Jermale Hines.

“I’m proud of those two guys,” Buckeyes safety Anderson Russell said. “We strive to score a defensive touchdown every week. So it was huge to get two.”

Coleman, who missed last week’s game against Indiana after being suspended by the Big Ten for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, gave Ohio State a 7-0 lead when he stepped in front of a Tolzien pass at the Ohio State 11-yard line and flew down the sideline and into the end zone.

“I did the easy part,” Coleman said. “It really started with the defensive line. They had a great rush on the quarterback and he was forced to throw it high, and it was an easy pick for me. I was just standing there and was in the right spot for it.”

Actually, Coleman had to weave through several blockers to find a clear path to the end zone, then nearly ran out of bounds while zipping down the sideline.

“I was tip-toeing down the line there for a second,” he said. “I had to put on my dancing shoes.”

Hines helped Ohio State increase its lead early in the third quarter when he tipped a Tolzien sideline pass straight up in the air, hauled it in and flew 32 yards into the end zone.

“It just sort of opened up like the Red Sea,” Hines said. “I tipped it, caught it and guys were blocking in front of me. That’s all I needed.”

Coleman’s return for a touchdown was Ohio State’s first since Malcolm Jenkins accomplished the feat on Oct. 27, 2007, at Penn State. The Buckeyes’ two interception returns for touchdowns were the first since Sept. 23, 2006, when Jenkins and Antonio Smith each returned picks, also against Penn State.

“There were times (Tolzien) was under amazing duress and still delivered the ball, and there were some times he didn’t have a chance and our guys were relentless,” Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said. “You go up on them a little bit like we did and it changes the nature of what you do.

“So, yeah, the pick-six is the most important play in football.”

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

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