Terrelle Pryor didn't need to look at the Camp Randall Stadium scoreboard to understand the importance of the Ohio State football team's final drive against the University of Wisconsin Saturday night.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel pulled his much-heralded freshman quarterback aside before he took the field and told him it was a big drive. Running back Beanie Wells told Pryor the drive was going to test his manhood. Finally, Pryor admitted talking to himself about it.

"I said, 'This is it. All the hype and all the people who said you were great, it's time to show it.,' '' said Pryor as he prepared to march the Buckeyes 80 yards in 12 plays for the winning touchdown with 1:08 left in the game that gave 14th-ranked Ohio State a 20-17 decision over 18th-ranked Wisconsin.

"I'm not saying I'm great," added a humble Pryor, who scored the winning touchdown on an 11-yard option-play scamper. :I mean, I just wanted to try to do what I could do."

It's rare when a freshman quarterback can match the hype that surrounds him but Pryor did just that as he helped the Buckeyes end the Badgers' 16-game home winning streak and hand third-year UW coach Bret Bielema his first home loss.

The victory in front of a national television audience also gave Ohio State (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) an early upper hand in the Big Ten Conference title race and forced the Badgers (3-2, 0-2), who have lost two straight, to regroup.

Pryor showed what he could do through the air during that final drive as he calmly completed 3 of 4 passes for 59 yards. And then the 6-foot-6, 235-pound freshman showed what he could do on the ground as he gained two yards for a key first down just two plays before his touchdown run.

"I really don't know what to say about this kid,'' said Wells, who anchored the ground game by rambling for 168 yards in 22 carries in just his second game this season. "He's a great football player and his knowledge for the game at his young age is incredible.''

Wisconsin was poised to beat the Buckeyes after running back P.J. Hill ran two yards for a touchdown to give the Badgers a 17-13 lead with 6:31 left in the game. The Badgers' defense had the momentum, too, because Ohio State hadn't found the end zone since its opening drive when it marched 71 yards in six plays to grab a 7-0 lead.

Pryor looked around and felt like everyone on the Ohio State sideline was standing in line to give him words of encouragement before he took the field for the final drive.

"Everyone was saying, 'This is why you're here. We believe in you,' '' Pryor related. "Then I stepped up to the boss, coach Tress, and he says, 'OK, Terrell, big drive here.' When coach Tress says something like that, it's special and I just don't want to let him down.''

Right after that, Pryor ran into Wells, who said, "This is a man's world and you're stepping into manhood right now.''

Pryor's eyes grew wide as he tried to explain what Wells' words meant to him. "When he said that, I mean, damn, Beanie, you can't pressure me no more. He was like, 'It's a man's world. What are you going to do with it?' I was like, OK.' ''