No. 8 Ohio State gets Illinois on Saturday morning in Columbus, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. on FOX and streaming available on FOXSportsGO. The betting line has the Buckeyes favored by 27.5 points, with the over/under at 54.5.
Illinois comes in at 2-1 overall and 0-0 in Big Ten play under sixth-year head coach Bret Bielema. The Illini are coming off a 48-10 win over SIU.
Ohio State enters at 9-4, 5-4 in conference play under head coach Ryan Day after a 59-3 win over Kent State.
The last time these teams met in Columbus, Ohio State handled Illinois 52-14 on Nov. 18, 2017. That afternoon in heavy rain at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes scored on their first six possessions and rolled to a dominant win.
J.T. Barrett threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his final game at Ohio Stadium, while Mike Weber piled up 108 yards on 11 carries and scored twice, including a 43-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Ohio State finished with 543 total yards and held Illinois to a season-low 105 yards.
The Buckeyes led 28-0 after one quarter and 38-0 at halftime. Illinois didn’t pick up a first down until late in the first half and finished with just five.
“Winning in the Big Ten is difficult,” said fifth-year senior center Billy Price, who started his school record 52nd straight game. “It’s rugged, it’s physical.
So to come out with everybody healthy, getting the victory, playing pretty well, executing at a high level for an offense, it feels good. We’re moving on.”
Illinois coach Lovie Smith didn’t sugarcoat what happened that day.
“If you stay in coaching long enough, you have games like this where the (other) team is better than you from start to finish,” Smith said.
“They dominated us on both sides of the football,” he said. “We had an opportunity early on a third-down play and we got a penalty. It was all downhill from there.”
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Illinois Just Gave Fans A Glimpse Of Its Next Backfield Debate
With the game in hand against Southern Illinois, Illinois finally got a first look at a name fans are going to hear plenty more this fall. Freshman running back Javari Barnett made his debut in the fourth quarter of the 48-10 win and turned eight carries into 50 yards while reaching the end zone for the first time in his college career.
Bret Bielema and others around the program came away clearly encouraged, and that is where the real conversation starts for the Illini. A productive debut always gets attention, but Barnetts arrival also adds another layer to a backfield that will now have to sort out how much of a role is available for a young runner who showed he can make an instant impact. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Heads To Ohio State With Tough Questions And One Big Hope
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The bigger development may be on defense, where linebacker Daniel Brown is expected to return after missing the season with an injury. For an Illinois team heading into one of the tougher road tests on the calendar, getting Brown back would add depth and experience at a time when every healthy body matters. The rest of the availability report leaves the picture less settled, though, and that uncertainty is part of what makes this week such a test. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Is Selling Top Recruits On A Bigger Role In Champaign
Brad Underwood has built Illinois basketball around an offense that prizes versatility and fluidity, and that pitch has become a real selling point as the program keeps chasing elite talent. Rather than asking players to fit narrow positional boxes, the Illini encourage recruits to show the full range of what they can do, a message that has resonated with several five-star visitors who have come through Champaign.
For a program that has leaned on recent success to stay in the mix with top prospects, the appeal is about more than just wins. Illinois is also presenting itself as a place where highly ranked players can be developed and used in a system that puts more on their plate, which is exactly the kind of opportunity many of them are looking for as the recruiting battle keeps heating up. [Read more 🡒]