Ohio State football won its 10th consecutive game and retained control of the Illibuck, beating Illinois 34-16 in a physical showcase from the Buckeyes’ defense.
Coming off back-to-back weeks with 30-plus points, the Fighting Illini offense struggled. Illinois allowed 21 points off three turnovers. Though quarterback Luke Altmyer finished with 248 passing yards, the most Ohio State has allowed an opposing quarterback this season, Illinois converted on just 4 of 14 third downs and averaged 1.7 yards per rush. The Buckeyes stalled Illinois long enough to pull away by the fourth quarter.
Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin completed 70% of his passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns while wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught a touchdown for his fifth straight game.
Ohio State maintained its undefeated 6-0 record ahead of a road matchup against Wisconsin.
How did the Buckeyes grade in their win? Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis.
Offense (4 leaves)
To no one’s surprise, the Buckeyes did not score a touchdown on their opening possession; the last time that happened was against Grambling State a month ago. Sayin did what he does best, giving up no turnovers and getting the ball into the hands of playmakers. More importantly, the offense ate up the clock and used gifted field position to snatch an early lead, allowing it to maintain a conservative approach.
While the run game took a back seat against Minnesota, it stood out in the first half against the Fighting Illini, specifically Bo Jackson’s playmaking. The freshman looked patient, making tactical decisions through run gaps and leaping to the end zone on a Sayin checkdown to extend the Buckeyes’ lead in the second quarter.
The offense wasn’t at its most efficient. The Buckeyes averaged 4.3 yards per play, and their longest offensive play was a mere 22 yards. In fact, Illinois outgained Ohio State 295 to 272 for the game. Still, scoring 34 points on the road is not easy, and the Buckeyes started most offensive drives around midfield. The Buckeyes converted eight of 15 third-down tries and scored four touchdowns in the red zone.
The offense did not flash as many big plays as the star-studded effort a week ago from Carnell Tate and Smith; it simply did its job.
Defense (5 leaves)
It took six games, but it finally happened. On fourth down at the goal line with 10:09 left in the 3rd quarter, Bret Bielema pulled out his bag of tricks. Receiver Hank Beatty pitched the ball to Aidan Laughery for an easy score, and it was the first red zone touchdown Ohio State has allowed this season. A second came in the third quarter on a 4-yard Collin Dixon TD catch.
Otherwise, Matt Patricia’s defense punished quarterback Luke Altmyer all day. The Buckeyes forced Altmyer’s first interception of the year when Jermaine Mathews Jr. tipped a pass to Payton Pierce for Pierce’s first career pick. Mathews, acting as the slot corner in place of an injured Lorenzo Styles, stepped up again in the third quarter, blitzing Altmyer and forcing a fumble.
Even dealing with some injuries, Ohio State’s defense lobbed several alley oops to the offense. The Silver Bullets forced three turnovers, which led to 21 points. The Buckeyes dominated physically, recording four sacks.
It’s a five-leaf performance because even if OSU’s defense gave up more points than it has in any other game this year, the turnovers set the tone.
Special teams (4 leaves)
Another standard day for the special teams staff. Jayden Fielding made both of his short field-goal tries and had no kick returns get past the 20-yard line.
There were two delay-of-game errors on the punt team in attempts to shift around protection. However, Joe McGuire made just one mistake when he kicked the ball out of bounds for a short 34-yard punt. Brandon Inniss had a solid kick return for 37 yards to wrap up a fine effort from the special teams.
Coaching (4 leaves)
Ryan Day admitted postgame that the Buckeyes “took the foot off the gas” down the stretch of the fourth quarter, but Ohio State had control of the game from the first turnover onward. To this point, no one has figured out how to break Patricia’s complicated defensive scheme.
On offense, Brian Hartline opted to try for four deep passes, converting just one. He called a balanced playbook of passing and rushing plays, similar to the Washington game. On the road, Day’s team proved it can afford to take a conservative route on offense while the defense is in control.
Fun factor (3 leaves)
The first battle for the Illibuck in eight years lasted nearly four hours and saw 11 penalties. Though Illinois showed some fight, Ohio State’s offense stayed conservative with the ground game and went without exciting, TV-worthy plays on offense. From a viewer’s standpoint, Ohio State’s defense looked fast and violent.
On Ohio State’s most exciting touchdown from Bo Jackson, FOX announcer Gus Johnson received some internet criticism for his lack of enthusiasm.
Oddly, Ohio State and Illinois had not had an Illibuck matchup this decade until this season’s game. Jeremiah Smith was the first to raise the wooden turtle trophy, a fun way to cap off the win.
Illinois (3 leaves)
Illinois beat itself up with mistakes that teams typically make in road games: costly turnovers that led to Buckeye scores and disastrous penalties in key moments. Illinois’ punter caught a snap with his knee touching the ground, costing the Illini valuable field position. Altmyer had several of his passes broken up or tipped, but led two trips to the end zone and proved that a 53-point loss three weeks ago to Indiana was a fluke.
Bielema earns a bonus point for the nifty play call that led to Laughery’s TD, but this game felt over by the fourth quarter. It’s back to the drawing board for the Fighting Illini.
Officials (1 leaf)
Defensive back Davison Igbinosun got away with pass interference a few times, most importantly on Illinois’ first end zone try. The Fighting Illini crowd collectively booed when the jumbotron showed the replay.
It happened again in the third quarter when Igbinosun kept Dixon from catching a pass.
The video room overturned several plays. Julian Sayin’s longest throw of the day, a 32-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith, was overturned in the second quarter. It was ruled that Smith did not maintain complete and continuous control of the ball while contacting the ground.
Illinois also fell victim. On a third-down play, Altmyer’s completed pass to Cole Rusk was overturned after replays showed the tight end stepped out of bounds and did not re-enter the field before jumping to make the catch.
The largest miss by the officiating staff came in the third quarter when Altmyer threw to Justin Bowick, who missed the entire end zone and landed with his entire backside out of bounds. On the field, it was called a touchdown. Review properly determined it was not. There was a pass interference penalty called on Devin Sanchez on that same play, which was a correct call.
An overall shaky day from the officials in moments where the game was still in reach for Illinois.
Note: This story was updated to reflect a spelling error.
“If you can go to someplace that’s so fundamentally different from what we experience here on a day-to-day basis, you should absolutely take the opportunity to,” he said. “And Taiwan is that opportunity.”
