Illinois
2014 national title anniversary: A look back at Ohio State football’s win over Illinois
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2014 national championship season, when the Ohio State football Buckeyes went 14-1 and captured the first College Football Playoff title. We’ll relive that remarkable year by sharing the game stories from that campaign as they appeared in the pages of The Columbus Dispatch.
Now up: Ohio State’s game against Illinois.
Buckeyes romp; Spartans next
Ohio State rolls to 38-0 lead over lowly Illinois
November 1, 2024
All week, Ohio State’s players and coaches insisted they would not look past Illinois toward next week’s showdown against Michigan State.
They were true to their word. The No. 13 Buckeyes got more help than resistance from Illinois last night, rolling to a 55-14 victory at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State’s defense caused four turnovers, three of which were converted into scores. “I thought our defense came out and played really well,” Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett, who suffered a sprained knee ligament in last week’s double-overtime victory over Penn State, showed no ill effects from the injury in one half of work.
“The knee really didn’t give me any problems,” Barrett said.
The victory was the 20th straight regular-season Big Ten victory for Ohio State, tying the conference record set by the 2005-07 Buckeyes.
No. 21 will not come as easily. The Buckeyes and Spartans have seemingly been on a collision course since Michigan State ended Ohio State’s 24-game winning streak under Meyer in last year’s Big Ten championship game.
“We’ve not talked about it much,” Meyer said. “Obviously, the dream was ripped away from us by a very good team.”
The Spartans had a bye this week. The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) might as well have, given how overmatched and mistake-prone the Illini were. There’s a reason that Illinois (4-5, 1-4) has won only two league games in three seasons under Tim Beckman.
One came last week against once-beaten Minnesota. That got their attention, the Buckeyes said, and they played as if focused on the here and now.
Ohio State led 31-0 at halftime, and it probably should have been worse. Twice, the Buckeyes were stopped on fourth down deep inside Illinois territory, the second time on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
The closest Illinois came to scoring in the first half came when Beckman passed up a chance to kick a field goal on fourth-and-2 from the Ohio State 12 in the second quarter with the Buckeyes ahead 24-0. Defensive end Joey Bosa threw
down backup Illinois quarterback Aaron Bailey for a loss on a bootleg.
Earlier, the Illini missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt.
The Buckeyes’ defense did more than stop Illinois. Linebackers Darron Lee and Curtis Grant had interceptions off of deflections thrown by starter Reilly O’Toole. Safety Tyvis Powell caused a fumble on a crunching hit on running back Josh Ferguson.
Lee’s interception and 26-yard return on Illinois’ opening possession set up Ohio State’s first score. Freshman running back Curtis Samuel, who earned the start over Ezekiel Elliott with a strong week of practice, scored on a 23-yard run.
Grant’s interception gave the ball to Ohio State at the Illinois 24 and set up Samuel’s second score on a 1-yard run.
Barrett wasn’t sharp early, overthrowing some receivers, but he settled in. He finished 15 of 24 for 167 yards and two touchdowns, both to Devin Smith. He also ran seven times for 38 yards before becoming a spectator for the entire second half.
Smith’s first touchdown came on a 32-yarder in which he beat cornerback Darius Mosely and made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch on Barrett’s perfect throw.
If there was to be any suspense about the second half, Smith ended it with his second score, which was aided by a questionable decision by Beckman.
After the Illini stopped Elliott on a shovel pass on fourth-and-goal, Illinois took over at its 2 with 1:38 left. On second down, Illinois attempted a short sideline pass, which fell incomplete. That allowed Ohio State to use its only remaining timeout after a third-down run.
The Buckeyes got a 28-yard punt return by Jalin Marshall to take over at the Illinois 25 with 34 seconds left. The Buckeyes needed only two plays to score – a 17-yard pass to Dontre Wilson and then Smith’s 8-yard touchdown catch to make it 31-0.
Backup quarterback Cardale Jones threw 27 yards to Wilson on Ohio State’s opening drive of the third quarter to extend the lead to 38-0.
By then, the only drama was whether the Buckeyes could maintain the shutout. That bid ended with mostly Ohio State’s backups on the field late in the third quarter when Donovonn Young capped a 65-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 48-7.
brabinowitz@dispatch.com
@brdispatch
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Illinois
Thousands of birds could migrate over the Chicago area this week, and here’s how to protect them
Thousands upon thousands of birds are expected to cross over Illinois as part of their spring migrations in coming days.
Thursday night saw the highest migration totals of the season so far, but researchers at Cornell believe that Sunday and Monday nights could see even more avian traffic in the skies over the Chicago area, with hundreds of thousands of birds expected to traverse the area.
According to estimates from Birdcast, Sunday night and into Monday morning there could be “medium” activity for migrating birds, with thousands of birds per kilometer flying over the area.
Even more birds are expected to take flight Monday night and into Tuesday morning thanks to favorable weather conditions, with a “high” number of birds expected to take to the skies over the Chicago area.
According to estimates, up to 383 million birds could be in flight over the central United States during the peak of the migration overnight.
On Thursday night the Chicago area experienced its busiest night of the spring migration season so far, with more than 367,000 birds having been estimated to have passed over Cook County alone.
In all, more than 23,000,000 birds are believed to have crossed the state of Illinois so far during the spring migration.
Among the primary birds expected to be flying through the area are American Redstarts, Magnolia Warblers, Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings, according to researchers at the CornellLab.
As millions of birds continue visiting the Chicago area, here are some steps that residents can take to keep them safe.
When do birds typically migrate?
Peak migration for birds over the state of Illinois occurs in mid-to-late May, with hundreds of different species heading north for the summer breeding season.
Those migration flights for songbirds and other species typically take place in the overnight hours. According to experts, birds typically take flight 30-to-45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number of birds in flight typically seen approximately two-to-three hours later.
When should residents turn lights off?
One of the best ways to help protect birds is to turn off lights during peak migration times.
According to Birdcast, the best time to turn off or dim exterior lights and interior lights is between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., when most birds are active.
Bright lights can disorient and attract birds, making them vulnerable to collisions and to predators on the ground, according to the website.
Hundreds of millions of birds are killed each year in collisions with buildings, and residents and businesses are being asked to do their part to keep the creatures safe.
In addition to turning off unneeded exterior lights, residents and businesses are also asked to dim or turn off lights in lobbies, and to draw blinds to help keep light from escaping through windows.
Finally, exterior lights should be aimed downward and be well-shielded so that birds aren’t attracted to them.
Are there other steps?
Another key step in protecting birds is to bring pet cats inside during overnight hours.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds in the United States every year, and during migration season those impacts can be even more devastating, as exhausted birds typically seek refuge in plants and trees to rest on their journeys, making them vulnerable to attack.
Since cats like to hunt at night, active migrating birds can be a target, leading to experts asking residents to keep animals inside when possible.
Police are investigating after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash in suburban Oswego on Saturday afternoon.
Officers responded to the 4000 block of Route 34 near Wolf Road for the crash around 1:42 p.m. The motorcyclist was unconscious and was receiving CPR when officers arrived.
They took over medical care until paramedics arrived and took the victim, identified as a 20-year-old man, to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending an autopsy scheduled for Monday, police said.
Initial reports say the victim was traveling eastbound on Route 34 when he hit an enclosed trailer being towed by a van. According to the police, the van was also traveling eastbound and was attempting to make a right turn into a driveway when the crash occurred.
The driver and passenger in the van were not hurt, police said.
Route 34 was closed between Wolf Road and Boulder Hill Pass for four hours for crash reconstruction.
The crash remains under investigation pending completion of the traffic crash reconstruction report.
Illinois
Man arrested after barricading himself inside vape shop in Des Plaines, Illinois, police say
A man was arrested after police say he barricaded himself inside a business in Des Plaines on Saturday morning.
The incident happened just before 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of Rand Road.
Des Plaines police said officers responded to Vortex Vapes, located inside a strip mall in the 1500 block of Rand Road, just before 9 a.m. for a report of a suspect, a 26-year-old man from Des Plaines, armed with a box cutter, who confronted the shop employee.
The employee was able to escape the business, but the suspect stayed and barricaded himself inside, police said.
The Tactical Response Team responded to the business and arrested the suspect, who surrendered without incident.
The business was closed for about four hours. Police said the area is now safe for travel, and the business has since reopened.
This incident is still under investigation. Des Plaines police said they will provide additional information once it becomes available.
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