COLUMBUS, Ohio - A big opponent for Ohio State brings a lot of questions this season especially considering that the Buckeyes haven't quite had that big oppnent thus far. Going up against the No. 1 defense in the nation as well as a more than capable Wisconsin offense provides challenges on both sides of the ball for Ohio State, so Ryan Day and the coaching staff are going to need all hands on deck to solve Paul Chryst and the Badgers.

Some of the problems the Ohio State will have to tackle this week is stifling Wisconsin's offense, how the Buckeyes' offense might perform themselves and whether or not Ohio State needs to get in some extra endurance training this week with the possibility of playing a 60 minute game. Check out all that and more in this week's big game edition of Five Questions.

Jack Coan has been somewhat of a surprise this season for Wisconsin. After years of middling quarterback play, Coan has brought some consistency to the Badgers passing attack, completing 76 percent of his passes and throwing nine touchdowns to only two interceptions. Throwing for just a tad under 200 yards per game, Coan has not lit up the scoreboards at all this season, and has even made some big mistakes in the big games Wisconsin has played this season, but he has generally been consistent and efficient this season.

This issue for Coan here will be that he is going up against the second best passing defense in the country behind only...Wisconsin. Impressively, though, Coan is averaging nearly 11 yards per completion, one of the best marks in the country, so for how good Jonathan Taylor has been, Coan has been able to move Wisconsin's offense well in his own right. While it seems unlikely Coan will go for big numbers against Ohio State's defense, he's arguably the best quarterback the Buckeyes will have faced up to this point (apologies to Adrian Martinez), so they'll have to contend with an offense not only boasting a good quarterback but legitimate play action ability.

Through seven games, Justin Fields ranks 10th in the nation in completion percentage at 70.7 percent which would be an Ohio State single season record. This is just one impressive statistic along with his similar attempts and completion numbers from game to game that highlight how consistent Fields has been. Averaging 213 passing yards per game and mostly limiting turnovers besides an interception and a couple of fumbles, there isn't one game you can point to that has definitively been Fields' best or worst performance for Ohio State. For better or worse, though, it seems like that will change this week against Wisconsin.

While the Badgers admittedly have not faced a murderers' row of opponents this season, it's difficult for any team to pitch four shutouts in a single season, let alone in the first six games. They've been able to limit pretty much every passer they've faced this season, and even in their loss, Illinois' Brandon Peters was only 9-of-21 for 174 yards, so no quarterback has been able to take over Wisconsin's defense thus far. For better or worse, whether he rises to the challenge or the Badgers are able to get inside Fields' head for the first time this year, it seems unlikely Fields will finish Saturday's game with another 200 yard, four touchdown or so finish as the Buckeyes may need more from him to win this game.

It's been a while since Ohio State has faced one of those transcendent running backs that requires the attention and focus of the entire defense. In fact, the last time the Buckeyes went up against a big name running back was actually Jonathan Taylor back in the 2017 Big Ten Championship game. Earlier in the season, Saquon Barkley and the Nittany Lions came to Ohio State for a big showdown, but since those matchups things have been dry on the premier back front for Ohio State.

While it may be unfair to judge Taylor given it was his freshman year (even though he finished with 1,977 yards), Barkley was at the top of his game in 2017 before being taken as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. This was a bonafide NFL talent that the Buckeyes were able to completely shutdown on the then-No. 2 team in the country, so Ohio State has a good track record with these game-changing backs. While Taylor has obviously had time to improve leaps and bounds in the almost two years since these teams last played, the Buckeyes have improved just as much in stopping the run, so it should be a fun matchup between Taylor and Ohio State's defense.

Wisconsin's offensive line presents a unique challenge for Chase Young with their success this season and seniority on the left side where Young is usually attacking. Left tackle Cole Van Lanen and left guard Jason Erdmann, a junior and a senior, respectively, have helped contribute to an offensive line which has helped the Badgers rush for 236 yards per game and have a sack rate at only 3.6 percent, 20th best in the nation, so it hasn't been easy for anyone getting to Coan this season.

On the flip side, there is nobody in college football who is getting to the quarterback more often or as consistently as Young is this season. The Buckeyes will have their hands full with Jonathan Taylor, so getting to the quarterback on passing downs will be important this week to stop Wisconsin's offense, and there's nobody Ohio State would rather task with that than Young. Young will also benefit from Coan's lack of mobility with minus 18 rushing yards on only 25 carries (of which a good chuck are sacks taken) so it seems reasonable to expect Young will be able to get to Coan at least once during Saturday's matchup.

It may be hard to believe, but seven games into the season and even after matchups against Nebraska and Michigan State, Ohio State has still not had to keep the jets on for 60 minutes yet this season. Florida Atlantic and the Spartans by far had the closest margin of loss than any other teams Ohio State has faced this year with 24 points losses, but the game against Michigan State was the only one even remotely close heading into the fourth quarter with the Buckeyes "only" holding a 17 point lead. Fields never left the field and the majority of the starters stayed in until the clock hit all zeroes, but it's still difficult to say this was a 60 minute game given the 24 point deficit for the Spartans less than five minutes into the fourth.

Bringing this to the Wisconsin game, it's much more likely this will be a low-scoring, intimate affair than some explosive Big 12 shootout, so it wouldn't be at all surprising if Wisconsin is still nipping at the heels of Ohio State heading into the fourth quarter if both defenses are playing up to snuff. A low-scoring game that's only separated by one or two possessions in the fourth quarter means the Buckeyes are going to have to go 60 minutes for the first time this season, so for as good as the depth is for Ohio State, the starters may have to prepare for a long afternoon.