The Series

This will be the 99th meeting of these two teams, and OSU leads the series 63-30-4 and has a record of 37-18-4 in Columbus. There have a been some streaks in the series with OSU having a 15-game streak from 1968-1982 and Illinois had a five game streak from 1988-1992. The series is the second oldest for Ohio State, behind the Michigan rivalry. The series ran uninterrupted from 1914 until 2003, when the teams did not play for two years due to the Big Ten rotating schedule. Illinois last beat OSU 28-21 in 2007, when Ohio State was ranked #1.

Last Year
Last season the Ohio State defense and running game carried the team while the passing game was limited to one completion. Illinois turned the ball over three times, with two interceptions and a lost fumble, and OSU was able to score 14 points off those turnovers. Boom Herron came back after a two separate suspensions covering the first six games of the season, and for the second year in a row against Illinois his running game proved critical. In this game he had 114 yards and one rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Drew Basil had a 43 yard field goal in the first quarter against the wind, to give him eight consecutive FGs in a row after missing the first two of the season. The only pass of the day was a touchdown pass to tightend Jake Stoneburner in the fourth quarter, who now leads the team with six TD catches. The defense limited Illinois to 285 yards and didn't give up points until halfway through the fourth quarter when Scheelhaase threw a short TD pass to Wilson.

The Illibuck Trophy
There are many trophy games in the Big Ten, and OSU has the Illibuck with Illinois. The game against Illinois is the only trophy game for the Buckeyes. The Illibuck is the second oldest trophy in the Big Ten. Starting in 1925 these two schools passed a real turtle to the winner of the game. The live turtle represented the long life expectancy of the rivalry between the two teams. However in 1927 the turtle died and was replaced by a wooden replica. At halftime of the game, members of honorary societies from both schools meet to pass the the trophy to the winner of the game from the previous year. In the past the ceremony included the smoking of a peace pipe. OSU leads the Illibuck series 59-23-2.