OSU vs. Illinois Preview Part 3

OSU vs. Illinois, November 4, 3:36 PM

ESPN2 with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Chris Spielman (expert) and Rob Stone on the sidelines

How OSU Did Last Week
The OSU defense, which now leads the nation in limiting opponents to 7.3 points/game, finally got a shutout, a 44-0 victory over Minnesota. The defense only allowed 182 yards with 47 rushing. The offense had 484 yards. Troy Smith was 14 of 21 for 183 yards and a touchdown. He had his first touchdown for the season on a 21-yard run. Antonio Pittman had 116 yards and two touchdowns. Beanie Wells fumbled the ball, but he still collected 90 yards.

What to Expect
Illinois is a talented team, but I think they are a year or two off from digging out of the Big Ten cellar. Their running game, which includes a mobile quarterback could cause some issues, but it won't last all-day. The victory at Michigan State was a big step in rebuilding this program. However, looking back now, Michigan State has only won one game since that loss to Illinois in September. Teams score on average 26.1 points against them, but they really haven't faced many tough defense teams and they are only outscored on average by 6 points. Rutgers is the only team that really played solid defense the entire game, not allowing Illinois to score and kept them to under 130 total yards. I don't see the opportunity for OSU to have a letdown game. Look for a similar stats as the Minnesota game, 200+ rushing and 200+ passing. The well-oiled-machine, also known as the Ohio State Buckeyes, will cruise through this game.