What to Expect

The Illinois game has been very competitive recently, with OSU winning 13 of the last 24. This is a long standing rivalry, and an earlier post discussed the Illibuck trophy. This game has never received the attention of the OSU-Michigan game, which makes sense, but both teams will be ready for this game. The 2007 loss is still fresh in the minds of the OSU team, and Illinois is looking for a breakout game against the #2 team in the country. Illinois will run the ball, run the ball again, and run again. An earlier post discussed how effective RB Mikel Leshoure has been this season. QB Scheelhaase will likely scramble when he goes into some of the passing formations. OSU should be able to keep Illinois to under 125 yards rushing, which is 50 yards over the average allowed by OSU. Illinois is touting its defense, especially against the run. However, the Illini struggled against a running QB when they allowed Northern Illinois to get over 100 yards rushing by the QB and 200 yards passing. OSU will get 200 yards rushing and 300 yards passing. OSU has averaged 266 yards passing, but I think OSU will surpass that against the weak Illinois passing defense. OSU will win 38-13.