Deny the Illini: Ohio State – Illinois Preview

With three games left on No. 3 Ohio State’s schedule, the path to the Big Ten Championship Game is clear: Beat Michigan State. Beat Michigan. If the Buckeyes can take those contests then they will earn their second straight East Division Title. Wait, I’m being told that the Buckeyes have another opponent on the slate. It looks like…Illinois? They still have a team? While the Bigger Games come later in November the Illini would love to spring a trap in Champaign.

Ohio State leads the all-time series with Illinois 66-30-4. Since the clubs began exchanging the Illibuck Trophy in 1925 the Scarlet and Gray lead 62-23-2, and possess a six game winning streak in the rivalry. Consider this: Illy Illibuck has been in Columbus longer than Urban Meyer. The last Illinois victory came in 2007 when an unranked Illini club upset top ranked Ohio State in Columbus.

Illinois (5-4, 2-3 B1G) has enjoyed a somewhat surprising amount of success this season considering how the year began. The Illini made the wrong kind of headlines in August when they fired head coach Tim Beckman one week before the year’s first game. The school named offensive coordinator Bill Cubit as the interim headcoach and the Land of Lincoln lowered their collective expectations. The Illini opened the year with wins over Kent State and Western Illinois before being shellacked by North Carolina in Chapel Hill. After defeating Middle Tennessee Illinois scored an impressive come-from-behind last-second victory over Nebraska. Illinois then dropped a trio of games at Iowa, versus Wisconsin, and at Penn State. Last week the Illini bounced Purdue on the road and reclaimed the Purdue Cannon. Surprisingly, the club is one win away from bowl eligibility with three games to go. An appearance in a postseason game, even a third tier one, could be considered a win after a season that started with such uncertainty.

This week’s program returns us to 1934 when the Buckeyes traveled to Illinois for the Illini Homecoming game honoring Red Grange. The cover includes the double-whammy of showing Depression-era clothing as well as automobile design. The young lady in the foreground holds a small pennant with an Illinois icon that looks more like a modern day Indiana logo than anything else. Upon further review it looks like the gentleman second from the left seems to be a police officer writing a ticket. Who is the recipient? Is the car in the background on fire? That would explain the massive volcanic cloud emanating from its tailpipe. The game also honored Illinois great Red Grange – “The Galloping Ghost.” Grange was a three-time All-American, a multi-level offensive threat, and a ball hawking defensive back. In 2011 ESPN named him the greatest college football player of all time. His statue stands outside Memorial Stadium to this day. Illinois won the game in question 14-13.

Offensively for Illinois, junior quarterback Wes Lunt has completed 193-of-346 passes for 2,000 yards, twelve touchdowns, and four interceptions. He has led the Orange and Blue on seven fourth quarter comebacks in his career including the wins over Middle Tennessee and Nebraska in 2015. On the ground, running backs KeShawn Vaughn (Fr.) has gained 665 yards and six touchdowns while senior Josh Ferguson has 514 yards and three scores. Both tailbacks ran for over one hundred yards in last week’s victory over Purdue. The Illini’s preferred receiver is senior Geronimo Allison who has 756 yards, three touchdowns, and a great name. Defensively senior free safety Clayton Fejedelm leads the conference in tackles per game (12.4) and has grabbed two interceptions.

After serving his one game suspension, JT Barrett stands poised to reclaim his position as starting quarterback for Ohio State (9-0, 5-0). Urban Meyer looks forward to seeing what Barrett can do for Ohio State’s offense. “He gives you an added element of the double option in the offense and double option means.” Throughout the year no matter who has called the plays one offensive component remains the same: Ezekiel Elliott. The junior from St. Louis averages 138.2 yards per game which leads the conference and ranks seventh in the nation. Dating back to 2014, Elliott has ran for at least one hundred yards in fourteen consecutive games. Come night games or day, rain or snow, third down and forever Elliott continues to tote the rock. With 1,244 net rushing yards on the season he becomes the first Buckeye to gain over one thousand yards in back-to-back seasons since Chris “Beanie” Wells in 2007-08. Elliott’s longest rush on the year is eighty yards and number fifteen has crossed the goal line fourteen times already. Going further back, Elliott’s 3,384 yards rank fourth all-time in school history behind only Archie Griffin, Eddie George, and Tim Spencer. That’s some strong company.

Besides their tenth victory, the Buckeyes are also playing for the school’s only rivalry trophy – Illy Illibuck. Earlier this week we ran an in-depth history of the tradition surrounding Illy, but suffice to say it’s the most important 32-pound wooden turtle you will see on television all week.

Saturday reads like a textbook trap game. Highly ranked team going on the road? Check. Trophy rival? Check. Major rivalry game coming up with potential playoff implications? Check. The difference is, Urban Meyer works too hard to keep his team focused on the task at hand before looking ahead. Illinois is a pleasant surprise this year, and will likely qualify for a bowl game. That sixth win won’t arrive at Memorial Stadium, however, Expect a rejuvenated JT Barrett to guide the Buckeyes to their twenty-third straight victory.