Illinois heads to Columbus on Saturday with momentum, but not much margin for error.
The Illini are coming off their most complete showing of the season, a 48-10 win over Southern Illinois, and they enter Week 4 at 2-1 overall and 0-0 in Big Ten play. Still, Ohio State is a different level of problem.
The Buckeyes also sit at 2-1, and after a loss to Texas in Week 2, they answered by hammering Kent State 59-3 last week. That’s the version of Ohio State Illinois gets at Ohio Stadium, and the Buckeyes have won 10 straight in the series.
Saturday kicks off at 11 a.m. CT from Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
FOX will televise the game. On the radio side, the matchup will air on WDWS-AM 1400 and WDWS-FM 93.9 in Champaign, WLS-AM 890 in Chicago, Illini Sports Network affiliates in other local markets, the Fighting Illini Mobile App, SiriusXM 179/233 and the SXM App.
Illinois and Ohio State have met 104 times, with the Buckeyes holding a 70-30-4 edge. The most recent meeting was an Ohio State win, 34-16 on Oct. 11, 2025.
What makes this matchup so tricky for Illinois is how efficiently Ohio State has scored even while its schedule has included Ball State, Texas and Kent State. The Buckeyes have not exactly lived on third down, but quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith have helped power the offense with explosive plays. Illinois’ new-look defense, which has had its own shaky moments, needs to settle down fast.
On the other side, Illinois has done a nice job taking care of the football and easing the burden on quarterback Katin Houser. The offense has mixed chunk gains - most often to receiver Collin Dixon - with steady drives, and that formula will probably have to carry the day again. Against a defense like Ohio State’s, though, perfection may be the price of staying competitive.
That’s where Ethan Moczulski could end up becoming a major figure. The Illini kicker may be asked to do a lot if Illinois is going to hang around, because Ohio State’s defense has been stingy inside the 20.
Through three games, the Buckeyes have allowed only six red-zone trips and just three touchdowns. They’ll also be focused on Dixon, who has seven touchdowns in three games, and on Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.’s misdirection.
Illinois is unlikely to score as freely as it has so far, but Houser, Dixon, the running backs and Lunney’s play-calling should still be able to create some chances for Moczulski. He has the leg for it, too. His only miss this season came on a 62-yard attempt.
For Illinois to have any real shot, the defense has to show up in a major way. The path is narrow, and the odds are steep, even if college football has already delivered a few shockers this season. The last Illinois win over Ohio State came in 2007, when the Illini stunned the Buckeyes 28-21 in Columbus, but that team finished 9-4 and had more talent across the board than this one.
So yes, strange things happen. But this is still a massive uphill climb for Illinois, and most bets are going on Ohio State.
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Ohio State Gets A Clear Warning About This Illinois Tune-Up
Bret Bielema spent part of the buildup to Illinois Week 4 trip to Columbus putting into plain language what Ohio State already knows well: the financial gap between the programs is enormous, and it shapes everything from roster depth to the margin for error. Illinois is walking into one of the sports toughest road environments with a coach who understands the challenge, especially after having to absorb key player losses before facing a Buckeyes team that enters as a heavy favorite.
For Ohio State, that makes this more than just another tune-up before the schedule gets tougher. The Buckeyes are expected to handle business, but games like this still carry value because they reveal how well a roster built to compete for bigger goals responds when the matchup tilts heavily in its favor. Illinois will be trying to make it inconvenient anyway, and that is the part worth watching as the Buckeyes move through the early stretch of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois' Best Hope Vs Ohio State May Come Down To One Battle
The next Illinois-Ohio State matchup figures to turn on more than talent alone, with the conversation centering on how Barry Lunney Jr. handles the offense and how Matt Patricia answers on the other side. A year ago, the game offered a useful snapshot of how coaching choices can shape the flow of this series, and both staffs enter this one with different personnel and different expectations than they had then.
For Illinois, the best chance to stress Ohio State may come from Lunneys ability to create answers before Patricias defense settles in. For the Buckeyes, the challenge is just as clear: adjust quickly, keep the Illini from finding rhythm, and make sure the game is decided by the side with the stronger game plan rather than the cleaner script. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Is Forcing A Massive Ohio State Debate Already
Jeremiah Smith has already done something at Ohio State that usually takes a full career to chase down. Early in his junior season, the wideout moved past the Buckeyes all-time receiving mark, a list that includes plenty of celebrated names, and the pace of his production has the program talking about him in a way that most players never get talked about.
Urban Meyer recently raised the temperature even more by calling Smith the best receiver in college football history, and it is exactly the kind of claim that invites a bigger argument. The numbers behind Smiths start are elite, but when you stack him against some of the sports other great college receivers, the debate gets more complicated, especially with his NFL future still unwritten. [Read more 🡒]