CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nestled in a tidy room brimming to the seams with a swarm of reporters, Urban Meyer took a moment to glance over the statistics from Ohio State’s 28-3 victory at Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.
“To come on the road, our defense is playing lights out and that’s obvious. The only issue I have, I think we controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides and the negative is we have to be more balanced.”
Ohio State’s defense shutdown the Illinois running game Saturday, allowing a meager 20 yards on 25 attempts. In the second half, the Fighting Illini lost 12 yards on the ground. Conversely, Ohio State tallied 283 rushing yards and 157 passing.
“When you’re playing a good team like that, there were just too many mistakes,” Illinois interim head coach Bill Cubit said. “I thought our kids played with a lot of passion and a lot of heart.”
Cubit’s done his best to keep his players focused amid the turmoil surrounding his program, with athletic director Mike Thomas getting the axe Monday. Thrown to the fire when Tim Beckman was let go a week before the season opener due to allegations of player mistreatment, Cubit’s led the Illini to a .500 season. Saturday, though, the Buckeyes — mainly Ezekiel Elliott — were simply too much for Cubit’s crew to handle. Even in Champaign’s wind tunnel.
“They kind of wear you down. They start speeding it up a little and they realize the issues we have. Ezekiel is a good back. That’s why they’re up there where they are.”
Elliott torched the Illini for 181 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns Saturday, with 134 coming in the second half. Ohio State led 14-3 at the break behind a J.T. Barrett touchdown pass to Michael Thomas and a rushing touchdown from the quarterback, but the second half belonged to its Heisman Trophy contender.
“We’re certainly not in this situation without Zeke. There is some issues, back-and-forth at quarterback, then we had another issue and he’s the one constant,” Meyer said. “Zeke will be the first one to tell you he can’t do it by himself. The offensive line is nailing them pretty good so that’s our strength, that’s our most consistent. But we also know that to win the big, big one you need to be balanced and we’re not quite there yet.”
Elliott now sits alone in third place on the all-time Ohio State career rushing list with 3,565, trailing Archie Griffin (5,589) and Eddie George (3,768), two men with three Heisman Trophies among them. Ohio State's current running back is certainly right in the thick of that conversation for the 2015 season.
“It's something you hear, it's something it's kind of hard not to pay attention to because it's everywhere around you,” Elliott said of the Heisman hype. “But it's not the important thing. The most important thing is getting back to the Big Ten Championship.”
Even with Barrett — who returned to the lineup for the first time in two weeks following a suspension stemming from an OVI citation early Halloween morning — the Buckeye passing game was not at a championship level Saturday. Barrett often experienced pressure and Illinois forced him to throw before he wanted to. It resulted in just 157 passing yards, a sack, the touchdown to Thomas and an interception, which was a result of left guard Billy Price being driven into him as he threw.
“He's an athlete, No. 6 is an athlete. I don't know his name, but the kid's good. Gotta give him the credit for it,” Price said. “Kid made a play, I went to pull and he came faster than what I was ready for, took a step back to regain my balance and be able to take him out. By that time I was already in J.T.'s lap. The kid made a play, just go get him the next one.”
“I could do a better job, too, helping those guys out,” Barrett added. “They're not going to be perfect every time and I can help out moving in the pocket and getting the ball out quicker. That's something I can definitely work on so I'm not just going to blame it all on them. I can get better as well.”
Ohio State’s pass protection left something to be desired all afternoon. Right tackle Chase Farris struggled again, but he wasn’t alone.
“A lot of what I see from him, I think sometimes he psyches himself out. There are times in practice where he looks great,” left tackle Taylor Decker said of Farris. “I think sometimes when he punches he tries to knock them out and that’s just not the essence of pass protection. You’ve got to strike with your hands and give ground and sometimes when he tries to punch he stops his kick and then he has a short edge to the protection.”
Meyer called the struggles his offensive line — which returned four starters from the 2014 title team — the “only negative” from the game, but he also witnessed another missed field goal. Sean Nuernberger earned the nod this week in place of Jack Willoughby, but hooked a 24-yard field goal try in the first quarter.
In the end, though, it didn’t matter. Ohio State’s defense and its 11 tackles for loss and three sacks put the Illini offense on ice all day. A few Illinois gaffes on special teams — a missed field goal, a muffed snap on another field goal try and then a dropped punt return — doubled with a heavy dose of Elliott in the second half gave the Buckeyes their 30th consecutive Big Ten regular season victory and 23rd overall.
“It's a tremendous honor. We don't take any win lightly, no matter the opponent,” Price said. “Illinois came out and played hard, we have to give them the credit which they deserve. It's a tough environment going away from home and we're going to enjoy that one and celebrate.”
“I feel like we're at a good place, we're 10-0, we're (6-0) in the Big Ten, one of the top teams in the country. Not a lot of people can say they're 10-0,” Barrett said. “So with that I feel like we're in a good place. The greatest thing about it, you don't have to be your best right now.”
Barrett’s 16-yard scramble on 4th-and-11 with a little more than a minute remaining until halftime kept alive a Buckeye drive that eventually ended with his rushing score. It allowed Ohio State to begin grasping that 10th victory, a play where Meyer challenged his offensive line and Barrett’s speed was the difference.
The Buckeye contingent in the crowd erupted, sensing their team gaining control. And while Ohio State still possesses fallacies that must be corrected with back-to-back weekends against Michigan State and Michigan coming to decide the Big Ten East, the Buckeyes have a defense playing as well as anyone in the country and an offense with one of the best players in the country. Not a poor pair of things to hang your hat on.
“I would say our defense and obviously offensively, running the ball,” Meyer said. “That’s how you win championships.
“To win the next week, we’re going to have to be nine strong. That’s something we’re going to continue to hammer. Pretty close today, though. On defense, all four units played well. I think the receivers played well today, every opportunity they got. I think our quarterback did pretty good. It was just pass protection issues that we have to get fixed.”
It sounds simple to fix, but regardless: Ohio State's season truly begins next week.
“This is why we come to Ohio State,” Elliott said. “This is why you come to a place like Ohio State, to play in big games and just crazy that we have these two back-to-back. The first one is kind of a rivalry, the second one is obviously a rivalry. Things are really starting to buckle down and we're anxious for these two coming up.”
