This might be the final Illinois previewwith a waterskiing image. Sniff.
 #2 Ohio State 4-0, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
October 2, 2010 12:00 PM ET - BTN —— Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL |
 Illinois 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule |
If the University of Illinois had any money, Ron Zook likely would have been bought out following last year's disastrous 3-9 season. Instead, he was ordered to clean house and he brought in a new offensive and defensive coordinator. Despite the opening loss to Missouri, there have been improvements on each side of the ball for the Illini as they put their 2-1 mark on the line against the unbeaten Buckeyes in Champaign.
This will be the 97th meeting in a series the Buckeyes have dominated, but the perennially underperforming Illini have somehow managed to take nine of the last 20, including a 28-21 win in Columbus in 2007 handing that Buckeye team its first loss of the season by way of an excruciating drive that broke the will of Ohio State while milking the fourth quarter of the game dry. Outside of that performance, Jim Tressel's teams have gone 5-1 against Illinois, though the last four in Champaign have all been nail-biters: 24-21 in '01, 23-16 (OT) in '02, 17-10 in '06 and 30-20 in '08. Slugfests against Tressel's best teams, basically.
Last year, the game was moved up on the schedule, into late September, with more favorable results as the Buckeyes shut out Illinois 30-0 in Columbus. We'll be looking for more of the same, but Illinois is coming off a bye week, so they should be rested (though they're just 11-24 following byes), although the R&R didn't exactly go quietly as planned (more on that below).
Opponent
New offensive coordinator Paul Petrino left his brother Bobby and Arkansas in an attempt to make his own name and the early positive results, while not revolutionary, are evident, perhaps best illustrated by the team's perfect red zone efficiency this season: six touchdowns and three field goals on nine visits.
Petrino's offense was very Mallet-based with the Hogs, but given the personnel in Champaign (and his boss's vocalized preferences), it's more of a run-based approach with the Illini. Junior running back Mikel Leshoure (#5), has topped 100 yards in all three outings this season, most recently with 180 yards on 24 carries against Northern Illinois two weeks ago. Currently 7th nationally in rushing yards per game with an average of 132.7, Leshoure's streak dates back to last season's 184 yards on just 11 carries against Fresno State, giving him the first four-game 100-yard streak out of an Illini since Robert Holcombe accomplished the feat way, way back in 1997. In his last nine games, he's accumulated 969 yards on the ground thanks to great vision and a sturdy frame (6-0/228). He'll be backed up by veteran Jason Ford (#21) in a committee format, but Leshoure will draw the majority of the touches. Oh, his name should really be "Miguel", but now it's too late.
Redshirt freshman Nathan Scheelhaase (#2), a highly touted recruit out of the Kansas City area two years ago is getting his legs under him as he begins Big Ten play with just 12 quarters of FBS football under his belt. For the season, he has a very average 31/57/380 with 3 TDs and 3 INTs line, but against the only decent competition he's faced, Missouri, he was miserable, finishing 9/23/81 with one TD and all 3 of those interceptions. Lanky at 6-3/195, he's great already on his feet (40 rushes for 204 yards!), proving elusive in the pocket and willing to scramble to keep a play alive. He's not quite there yet, but he'll be a good one when he does arrive in a year or two.
The numbers in the receiving corps reflect the young quaterback and the run-first tendency of this offense. A.J. Jenkins (#8) leads the team with 12 catches, good for 190 yards and two touchdowns. If Illinois gets anything downfield against the Buckeyes, chances are Jenkins will be on the receiving end. You may remember Eddie McGee (#10), the receiver who started his career at Illinois as the next Juice, but, yeah, not so much. The Illini boast a pair of quality freshmen tight ends, Evan Wilson (#89) and Justin Lattimore (#88). They figure to have their hands full with Cam Heyward and Nathan Williams all afternoon, but but both have made clutch plays in the passing game this season and will require some attention from the Buckeyes.
We are really, really going to miss this guy.If you ask Zook and staff about the offensive line, they'll admit it's been a mixed bag. The unit replaced two starters from the middle of last season's line and have not missed a beat run-blocking, but penalties and mental mistakes have popped up as you would expect from a younger unit. Just two weeks ago, against Northern Illinois, the group was whistled for two holdings, a personal foul and a false start. PRoblems have also surfaced off the field. Sophomore guard Hugh Thornton (#72), a native of Oberlin, strained his neck against the Huskies and apparently was so bothered by it he decided to engage in a bar room fight the Saturday night of Illinois' bye weekend. He already has an underage drinking charge from earlier in his career and Zook refused to take questions on him during his presser, so it's anyone's guess as to whether he'll take the field tomorrow. Tackle Jeff Allen (#71), a junior that has started every game on the line since the 4th game of his freshman year will do his best to help contain the Buckeye ends.
The Illini defense, under first-year DC Vic Koenning (formerly the DC at Kansas State), is holding opponents to just 66.7% in the red zone, good enough for third in the Big Ten. That metric, along with many others is up over the first three games of the '09 campaign and indicate a group that will be a little more formidable than the one that rolled over in Columbus last year. They're particularly strong against the run -- having held NIU standout running back Chad Spann to just 15 yards on 13 carries. Spann, the 13th-leading rusher in FBS, followed that outing up by piling up 223 yards on 15 carries against the Gophers the following week.
End Michael Buchanan (#99) should be back from suspension and is joined by tackle Whitney Mercilus (#85) on a pretty decent front.
Butkus canddate Martez Wilson (#2) is back after missing last season with a herniated disc in his neck. He's joined by junior Ian Thomas (#38), a 240-pound fire hydrant that finished 10th in the Big Ten in tackles last season.
The secondary is green with a lot of upside. Terry Hawthorne (#1), a preseason first team All-Big Ten selection from Phil Steele is still out with a broken foot, but former Ohio State verbal Justin Green (#26) has been playing well after moving from running back to corner. Meanwhile Travon Bellamy (#31) is 3rd on the team in tackles with 8.0 per game.
Senior punter Anthony Santella (#87) is 2nd nationally with a 48.9 average, while Illinois as a team is 4th in the nation in net punting. Kicker Derek Dimke (#13), a junior, is 9/9 on field goals since taking over as a starter last season, including a 52-yarder in the opener this year against Missouri.
Buckeye Breakdown
Last year, in a downpour in Columbus, the Buckeyes struggled to throw the ball, but ran well, finishin with 236 yards on the ground in a nice rebound shortly after the USC debacle. Herron finished with 75 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while Saine contributed 81 yards on just 13 carries. The Ohio State offensive line will have to run block better than they've shown recently to repeat that kind of performance, but the good news is Pryor is twice the threat he was last time he faced the Illini and was held to just 82 yards in the air (the second-straight game the Illinois defense has held Ohio State to under 100 yards passing in the contest). With tight end and safety blanket Jake Stoneburner sitting this week out with an ankle injury, it will be a good test for Pryor. Is this the game a reliable third receiver steps up?
Trophy games can be lame, but not this one.From a scheme perspective, I'll feel pretty good if the Illini approach the game like other defenses have this year, intent on taking away the power running game. I don't expect that trend to continue all season, so it will be interesting to see how Koenning decides to attack the Buckeyes.
It will be strength on strength as Leshoure and the power Illini running game goes head-to-head with the best front seven they will face all season. Leshoure has that nice little streak of 100-yard games, but the OSU defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 27 games (Joe McKnight in 2008 was the last).
There are concerns in Columbus about the number of injuries suffered by the Buckeye secondary, but luckily, Scheelhaase isn't quit the passer he will eventually become, so fears of him carving the group up are unfounded. The defense will have to watch him on his feet, however. He's gritty and has good vision when scampering, so OSU will need to get after him early with a combination of zone and man blitzes in hopes of rattling him. Jumping out to an early lead would do wonders in forcing the Illini out of their element.
Finally, after last week's snoozer against Eastern Michigan, the Buckeyes have a great opportunity to show some special teams improvements against a team with quality units in that regard.
Prediction
It's unknown whether this will be the last time Buckeye fans get the Ron Zook Experience, however, Illibuck should return to Columbus for at least one more year.
Ohio State 33, Illinois 13
