Ohio State sent it's seniors out on a winning note in a drenched Ohio Stadium as the Buckeyes, as expected, took down Illinois 52-14, clenching the B1G East a trip to the conference title game in the process. The complete talent mismatch saw the Buckeyes outgain the Illini 543-105 while emptying the bench for the bulk of a second half played in monsoon conditions. Ohio State moves to 9-2 on the season and 21-2 in the month of November under Coach Meyer.
A closer look at the stats show just how dominant the Buckeyes were on both sides of the ball, as Ohio State’s offense ended the game with more than five times as many yards (543) as Illinois’ offense (105). A second straight excellent performance by Ohio State’s rushing offense, coupled with a stifling day by Ohio State’s passing defense, led the way to the Buckeyes’ big win. One week after a dominant, 335-yard, four-touchdown performance on the ground against Michigan State, Ohio State continued its dominance in the ground game against Illinois, rushing for 325 yards and four touchdowns on 59 carries. The Buckeyes were particularly dominant in the ground game in the first half, rushing for 229 yards and all four of those touchdowns on 30 carries, good for more than 7.6 yards per carry. Mike Weber led the way with 11 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including his third touchdown of more than 40 yards in two games. Antonio Williams had 19 carries for 74 yards, with all but one of those carries coming in the second half, while J.K. Dobbins had 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. Mike Weber, I believe, is the most improved offensive player this year. It seems as though, he’s “added an extra gear”. Last year, he didn’t seem to have the breakaway speed to pull away from defenders. Now, he does and he’ll still run over people. J.T. Barrett, for his final game in the ‘Shoe, was 11 for 19 for 141 yards and two scores and rushed for 37 yards and another score. His 11-yard scoring toss to Benjimin Victor in the first quarter was Barrett’s 100th touchdown pass of his career.
Despite getting only two sacks, the Ohio State defense picked up where it left off last week against Michigan State. Ohio State allowed just 105 total yards and only 16 yards through the air, marking the third time this season the Buckeyes have held their opponent to under 20 passing yards. By moving the chains only five times against the Ohio State defense on Saturday, Illinois had less first downs than any opponent has had against the Buckeyes since Florida A&M, an FCS team, in 2013. The Illini did not have a single first down in Saturday’s game until there were less four minutes remaining in the second quarter, and that was the only time the Illini moved the chains in the first half of the game. Backup Erick Smith had his best day, leading the defense with six tackles and Chris Worley was all over the field, with five tackles and one for a loss. Sam Hubbard and Jalyn Holmes did their customary good work up front and Damon Webb was very active, breaking up a couple of deep passes and forcing Illinois to punt. Even with the reserves in for much of the second half, the Ohio State defense held the Illini to a mere 105 yards of total offense, five first downs, and 1-for-12 on third down.
Ohio State has clinched the B1G East berth in the B1G Championship game in Indianapolis December 2 against Wisconsin. But first, it’s rivalry week as the Buckeyes must first travel to Ann Arbor to take on a wounded, but still dangerous, Michigan team.
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