Ohio State Football: OSU Defeats Illinois in First Big Ten Game of Season

Ohio State came out today against Illinois looking the best they have looked all season. With repairs to special teams and impressive displays on offense, the Buckeyes advanced their record to 5-0 as they beat Illinois 24-13.

Recap

OSU started out a little slow in this game, but as time went on they played better and better. In the first quarter OSU scored a touchdown, but allowed Illinois to score one as well.  

In the second quarter the OSU defense picked it up and was able to hold off the Illinois offense in several very close situations near the end zone. Illinois did make a field goal, but in comparison to how close they were to the end zone on those several occasions, it was not much.

The OSU offense picked it up in the second quarter as well. Terrelle Pryor had a good throw to Dane Sanzenbacher which resulted in the second touchdown of the game for the Buckeyes. Pryor also had two excellent runs down the field which helped put OSU in a good field position for plays later in the quarter.

Coming out of halftime the score was 14-10, OSU.

The third quarter gave OSU a scare when Pryor was injured on an early play.  He disappeared for most of the quarter but came back into the game towards the end of it.

Daniel Herron moved the ball well for the Buckeyes throughout the third quarter. He ran straight threw the Illinois defense over and over again.

Illinois also came out of halftime strong. They had some really hard, great tackles against the Buckeyes, which hindered OSU's movement down field.

The fourth quarter saw great passes to DeVier Posey and Herron. Both of these OSU players made great cuts to catch passes from Pryor which they then were able to make runs with.

The Illinois defense continued to hold OSU back with their strong tackles and by sacking OSU players behind the line.

Halfway through the fourth, OSU was able to score a field goal to put the Buckeyes up 17-10.

In response to OSU’s field goal, Illinois worked their way down the field and scored their own field goal.

Herron continued to push through the Illinois defense throughout the fourth, making some great runs down the field.  His efforts paid off in another touchdown for the Buckeyes.

Illinois set themselves back throughout the fourth quarter with penalty after penalty against both their offense and defense.

The game ended in a 24-13 OSU win.

Analysis

This game was a good way for OSU to start Big Ten conference play.

The team came out strong and had a few great offensive and defensive plays.

On offense, Herron, Pryor, Sanzenbacher, and Saine did a lot to help move the ball and advance OSU’s score.

On defense, OSU played well, but the team seemed to be lagging around the third quarter of the game.

Illinois had some nice plays, and showed that their defense was a force to be reckoned with. They were able to hold the Buckeyes back, preventing OSU from racking up as many yards as they would have liked.

Overall, OSU did a nice job, but there are several things they will need to clean up before taking on Indiana next week.

Special teams are looking better, but the defense still needs to focus on keeping the other team’s offense from breaking through and not allowing long runs down the field. Those types of runs could cause problems for OSU if they continue to let them happen numerous times per game.

OSU’s ability to get open for a pass from the quarterback was pretty good, but it would really help in the long run if they could get open more quickly.

This was an important win for the Buckeyes to start Big Ten conference play—they will begin the conference with a record of 1-0.