After watching the Penn State VS Illinois "game" on Saturday, I was reminded of another barn burner from the past...

10 years ago, unranked Ohio State (3-3) played at #16 Illinois (6-0) and ended up winning 17-7.

(SIDE NOTE: This is the last Ohio State away game I've attended... I'm afraid what might happen if I go to another)

Let me first say... The difference a decade can make is huge. Shoot, even the difference a few games can make is huge. After the Oregon game this year, I told myself, "If OSU wins the Big 10 and make the CFP this year, that'll be a huge win." Now, people are saying, "WE WANT GEORGIA!" It's one of the things I love about college football—you can live or die with every game. The defense was being called porous and confused after a couple games this year. I remember hearing that improvements could be made, but there's no reason to believe they could improve enough to be championship caliber... Well, we're about to find out! All of that, though, is nothing compared to the state of the Ohio State football program 10 years ago.

Here are a few stats/insights from 2011's game against Illinois:

• Braxton Miller was 1/4 passing (17 yards, 1 TD) (but hey! it was pass to the tight end!)
• Ohio State's DEFENSE caught more passes than Ohio State's offense (2 INTs)
• 51 running plays, 4 pass plays
• Ohio State started the game with 21 straight runs
• It was Boom Herron's first game back from suspension (23 carries for 114 yards)
• Ohio State had 228 total yards
• Ohio State forced 3 turnovers, which were huge in helping them win (2 TDs after forcing turnovers)
• 2011 was the LAST time Illinois has been ranked in the top 25, and this loss to Ohio State started a six game losing streak which kicked them out of the top 25. I believe it's the last time they played a game at home while ranked (likely the best game atmosphere they've had in the past 10 years)
• With 5 seconds left in the half, Ohio State had the ball at midfield, and decided to run a hail mary from the i-formation. Braxton Miller got sacked to end the half.
• The leading receiver for the year was Devin Smith with 294 yards (14% of those yards came from the game winning catch against Wisconsin)
• With about a minute left in the game, Illinois was down 17-7 and had the ball 4th and 2 on OSU's 16 yard line. Kick the field goal and then onside kick, right? Nope, they went for it and threw an incomplete pass nowhere near the receiver.
• The week prior, Ohio State lost to Nebraska. In that game, Braxton Miller got hurt and Joe Bauserman came in for his infamous performance, going 1/10 for 13 yards and 1 INT. Maybe that influenced Fickell's gameplan against Illinois?

Of course, 2011 had its own set of circumstances—it was an outlier. They won the Sugar Bowl the 2010 season and went undefeated in 2012 (Urban Meyer's first season). So, it's not totally fair to use that game as a comparison to today.......

BUT! I'm pumped about Ohio State's team this year, and am glad these aren't the days of celebrating an "upset" victory over Illinois while completing only one pass.

Here's the full game if you really want to go through the agony :-)