Wisconsin takes the belt, 17–10, at home over Ohio State.
AP poll, week 8: Ohio State No. 3 at Wisconsin No. 23 · No. 1 that week: Michigan State. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Wisconsin took the belt here, ending Ohio State’s run of 281 days and 5 defenses (reign #254) and starting reign #255. It lasted 7 days and 0 defenses, until Purdue took it on October 18, 2003.
For Wisconsin this was its 10th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before — and it took it back here.
It was the 5th of 7 belt games between the two; going in, Ohio State led the belt series 4–0; all-time Ohio State leads 6–1. Every meeting →
About this game
On October 11, 2003, Wisconsin defeated visiting Ohio State 17-10 in a regular season game. With this victory, Wisconsin took possession of the College Football Belt from Ohio State.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 12:48 | Ohio State | +26 yd | Punt by B.J. Sander (OSU) returned 26 yards by Jim Leonhard (WIS) to the Buckeyes 44. |
| Q1 1:11 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Badgers fumble by Jim Sorgi (WIS), recovered by Matt Bernstein (WIS), advanced for no gain. |
| Q2 15:00 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Extra point by Mike Allen (WIS) is good. |
| Q2 15:00 | Wisconsin | +2 yd | Booker Stanley (WIS) rushed left side for a 2 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 10:22 | Wisconsin | +22 yd | Jim Sorgi (WIS) pass across the middle complete to Jonathan Orr (WIS) for 22 yards. |
| Q2 7:08 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Badgers fumble by Jim Leonhard (WIS), recovered by Jason Bond (OSU), returned for no gain. |
| Q2 4:43 | Ohio State | +24 yd | 24 yard field goal by Mike Nugent (OSU) is good. |
| Q2 4:02 | Ohio State | +20 yd | Kickoff returned by Matt Bernstein (WIS) for 20 yards. |
| Q2 0:56 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Buckeyes fumble by Craig Krenzel (OSU), recovered by Craig Krenzel (OSU), advanced for no gain. |
| Q3 14:43 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Jim Sorgi (WIS) pass across the middle intercepted by Dustin Fox (OSU). Returned for no gain. |
| Q3 14:43 | Wisconsin | +29 yd | Booker Stanley (WIS) rushed right side for 29 yards. |
| Q3 9:04 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Buckeyes fumble by Chris Gamble (OSU), recovered by Michael Turner (WIS), returned for no gain. |
| Q3 5:27 | Wisconsin | +38 yd | 38 yard field goal by Mike Allen (WIS) is good. |
| Q4 11:53 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Craig Krenzel (OSU) pass left side intercepted by Jim Leonhard (WIS). Returned for no gain. |
| Q4 13:14 | Ohio State | +31 yd | Craig Krenzel (OSU) pass left side complete to Drew Carter (OSU) for 31 yards. |
| Q4 10:30 | Wisconsin | +25 yd | Matt Schabert (WIS) pass left side complete to Brandon Williams (WIS) for 25 yards. |
| Q4 6:53 | Ohio State | +46 yd | Craig Krenzel (OSU) pass right side complete to Drew Carter (OSU) for 46 yards. |
| Q4 6:13 | Ohio State | +6 yd | Craig Krenzel (OSU) pass left side complete to Michael Jenkins (OSU) for a 6 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 6:13 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Extra point by Mike Nugent (OSU) is good. |
| Q4 5:55 | Wisconsin | +79 yd | Matt Schabert (WIS) pass right side complete to Lee Evans (WIS) for a 79 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 5:55 | Wisconsin | +0 yd | Extra point by Mike Allen (WIS) is good. |
| Q4 5:12 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Buckeyes fumble by Bam Childress (OSU), recovered by Bam Childress (OSU), advanced for no gain. |
| Q4 1:56 | Wisconsin | +24 yd | Booker Stanley (WIS) rushed left side for 24 yards. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 232840275) · This game in the downloadable dataset