By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) —
Columbus- Old school is officially odd in the Big Ten, and Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema not only takes pride in that, he hopes to exploit it.
Like a hardened old rhino in a conference zoo filling up with cheetahs and antelope, Wisconsin won’t apologize for its power and has no plans to incorporate the spread offense, which has crept to some significant degree into every conference offense other than Wisconsin and Iowa.

“Not at this point,” Bielema said before the start of the season. “Never say never, but the biggest thing we have going right now is when you’re getting ready to play us, it’s going to be a little bit of a different preparation, just from the standpoint of getting all the guys in the right spot and trying to simulate what our guys do.”

(Bielema also took a shot at recruiting Terrelle Pryor, visiting Jeannette High School, and Pryor would have been doing more than handing off and dropping back wherever he went, so change is always possible.)

Once upon a time, part of the spread’s appeal was that defenses didn’t see it much. Now the trend has flipped and lining up with two tight ends and handing off inside practically looks like a flea flicker. Bielema has trouble stealing ideas because when he looks around, he doesn’t see many comparable teams.

“When you’re trying to watch other teams for ideas and strategies for what you can do offensively, there’s going to be limited film,” Bielema said. “But I would much rather have that side of it than having to be the guy that does everything that everybody else does.”

When you watch Ohio State face the Badgers in Wisconsin on Saturday night, you’ll sometimes see the Buckeyes look like the Badgers, lining up with a tight end, an offset tight end and / or a fullback, and running between the tackles. While Jim Tressel said the Badgers run some spread, saying they might run it less than any conference team, even when Wisconsin goes to the shotgun to move the ball quickly, it’s not really the spread.

Quarterback Allan Evridge isn’t a threat to run, though he will get out on a bootleg and throw on the move, like USC’s Mark Sanchez does. And the run comes first, second and third.

“I think for sure they have an advantage,” OSU cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson said. “It makes the defense shift their personnel and shift their game plan. And they have an advantage because they have some guys up front and a big tailback.”

It’s actually a trio of backs, with P.J. Hill, John Clay and Zach Brown running behind an offensive line that averages 6-6 and 319 pounds.
“It started with the Barry Alvarez era of let’s get some big ole’ linemen and get some big ole’ backs and smash you in the face,” announcer Brad Nessler said during Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan last week.
And even though everyone knows it and expects it, it’s still something of a surprise.

“It’s Wisconsin power football. That’s what they’re known for, that’s what they’re good at, and that’s why they do it,” OSU defensive end Lawrence Wilson said, on the one hand.

But on the other hard, “it’s definitely a change-up,” Wilson said. “It’s different than what you did for Minnesota or Troy. It’s a totally different offense.”

Last week against Minnesota’s spread, the Buckeyes moved defensive end Cameron Heyward to tackle and worked quicker defensive ends Thaddeus Gibson and Nathan Williams into the game. And physical nickelback Jermale Hines is basically a starter and has emerged as a playmaker.

Against Wisconsin, the smaller ends should give way to more size, and the run-stoppers at tackle will be relied on more. And the Buckeyes will need to find ways to get Hines in the game.

It’s a shift away from the norm. But when Wilson first started talking about the Badgers this week, he called their style Big Ten football. That’s not really true anymore - except in Madison.

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