Well, it happened, the Ohio State football team was knocked off. And it occurred in the next game after being ranked No. 1 in the country for the third straight time. That leaves a mark.

The other two major letdowns came during the 2007 season, specifically the 28-21 loss to Illinois after the Buckeyes had worked their way to the top of the polls and the defeat in the BCS title game at the hands of LSU.

Those losses took place at home and at a neutral site, if you want to call playing the Tigers at the Superdome in New Orleans “neutral.”

This setback, a 31-18 decision at Wisconsin on Oct. 16, was clearly in a hostile environment. The Badgers, ranked No. 18 coming in, were ready from the get-go and jumped out to a 21-0 lead. After the Buckeyes scored 18 straight points to change momentum and get right back in the game, UW responded by scoring the last 10 points of the contest.

There is no denying that the Badgers played an outstanding football game. Bret Bielema has been gunning for Ohio State since he took over the UW program and the importance of his first win over the Scarlet and Gray was written right into his three-mile-wide grin after the game.

The Buckeyes, on the other hand, well, looked devastated. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who endured a shaky outing, appeared sulky in the game’s final minutes and didn’t seem to play with any fire once OSU fell behind 28-18.

The players said throughout the team’s 6-0 start that the goal was to run the regular-season table. With so many other programs off to hot starts it appeared more and more likely that any blemish on the record would cost Ohio State a chance to return to the BCS National Championship Game.

With the initial BCS rankings of the season released the day after OSU’s loss at Wisconsin – and the precipitous drop from No. 1 to 10 in The Associated Press poll – the steep climb the Buckeyes now face immediately has become the most compelling topic related to this team. But before delving into that, we need to look back on what exactly went wrong in Madison.

The following are six points of interest:

* It took all of 12 seconds for the Buckeyes to trail in this game as David Gilreath raced 97 yards with the opening kickoff and ignited the home crowd. The Buckeyes have put too much emphasis on kick cover and even overhauled their personnel to rectify this issue. Inexcusable.

* The Buckeyes knew they’d be up against it if they had to play from behind but that’s exactly what happened, allowing the Badgers to play off the crowd and get their power running game in gear. As good as Wisconsin is it isn’t nearly as potent offensively when it has to play catch-up, which is what happened in the loss at Michigan State. Ohio State not only gave up the huge special teams play, it also took too long to come up with defensive answers. Disappointing.

* John Clay became the first running back in 30 games to manage a 100-yard rushing output against the OSU defense, a run that dates all the way back to the debacle at USC in 2008 when Joe McKnight proved elusive. This was kind of a perfect storm scenario as Clay, one of the toughest runners in college football, was extra motivated to face top-ranked Ohio State on national television at home and afforded a big early lead. To make matters trickier, OSU’s top tackler, Ross Homan, was injured during the game and watched much of it from the sideline. Clay was impressive but not so dominant that OSU couldn’t get back in the game. Plus, the Buckeyes did a decent job on nimble backup James White, who came in averaging 7.7 yards per carry and was held to a 4.4 average. If Homan can return to form there is still plenty of reason to believe the Buckeyes can go back to slamming the run with regularity. Not all that discouraging.

* Pryor once again seemed to regress a bit right after an outstanding performance. He purposely didn’t bother to test a sore quadriceps the week prior against Indiana and concentrated instead on hanging in the pocket, going through his progressions and making accurate throws. The result was a career-high 334 yards passing on 24 completions in 30 attempts. Facing a completely different challenge – and clearly intent on using his legs more – Pryor never seemed settled. He was 14 of 28 for just 156 yards passing. He failed to throw a touchdown, pitched an interception and was sacked three times. Pryor got hot at the start of the second half but even then he needed Dane Sanzenbacher to make a couple circus catches. In truth his passes were all over the place and his late interception was a heartless attempt to get the ball downfield. Just when it appears Pryor has turned all the necessary corners in his development, he has a performance like this. Disheartening.

* Not all of Pryor’s troubles were his fault, though. In fact, he may see No. 99 in red coming at him in his nightmares for a few weeks. J.J. Watt had four tackles, three for loss, two sacks and a QB hurry. In short, he victimized every part of Ohio State’s line. And the Buckeyes still have to face Purdue’s Ryan Kerrigan and Iowa’s Adrian Clayborn this season. Frightening.

* Conversely, the Buckeyes had no sacks, no hurries and provided no pressure to speak of against Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien. Linebacker Andrew Sweat, who did an admirable job on the weak side in place of Homan, did pick off a Tolzien pass but the UW signal caller still put together a 13-for-16 passing night, meaning only two of his attempts struck the ground. The Buckeyes have a very formidable combination of defensive ends with starters Cameron Heyward and Nathan Williams as well as reserve Solomon Thomas but for whatever reason this group isn’t getting into the backfield with much disruption these days. Concerning.

The truth is this Buckeye team may not be worthy of a top-five ranking and there are now some chinks obvious in the armor. Still, some OSU teams of the past have responded to a midseason loss by cranking it up a notch or two and playing at an elite level by season’s end. That could still happen here.

The pressure could come soon. Pryor could shake off the Wisconsin loss by intensifying his focus and determination. The special teams could finally get right. The offensive line, which has shown some signs of life, may finally find a dominant groove. A November surge can’t be counted out.

Plus, several teams that sit above the Buckeyes in the BCS standings still have a few landmines of their own to avoid. Nebraska also lost in Week 7 and is well below Ohio State in the rankings. The Cornhuskers could be looming for Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. Also, the Sooners have showdowns with Missouri and Oklahoma State.

Oregon still has to take on UCLA, USC, Washington, Cal, Arizona and rival Oregon State. Auburn has to face LSU and Alabama. LSU has to get by Auburn, Alabama and survive a trip to Arkansas at the end of the season. Michigan State still has road tests at Northwestern, Iowa and Penn State.

Even the teams ahead of Ohio State that are not in major conferences will have a few hurdles. Utah’s November schedule begins with a huge showdown with TCU and a trip to Notre Dame. TCU. Boise State has a date with Hawaii and an interesting trip to Nevada.

Clearly, the Buckeyes need to get back on track on concentrate on their own shortcomings. But in the process they could inch up into the top three or four – or higher.

In other words, all is not lost – just one ballgame.