With Ohio State beating Illinois the way it did on Saturday, it opened the door for a number of Buckeyes to get extended playing time they usually wouldn't get.
One of those players was backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who entered the game midway through the second quarter with Ohio State already boasting a 38-0 lead.
The redshirt freshman signal caller was asked mainly to hand the ball off on a number of zone reads during his time in the game, and took the field again in the second half with the same 38-point advantage. Haskins finally pulled the ball on a zone read, however, only to fumble, leading to a 54-yard scoop-and-score for the Illini.
Urban Meyer proceeded to put his starting offense back on the field for another two drives, the second of which ended in a touchdown pass from J.T. Barrett to tight end Marcus Baugh.
On Ohio State's following offensive possession, it was Joe Burrow that led the second-team offense out onto the field instead of Haskins. Burrow suffered a fumble of his own, but was able to fall on the loose ball before an Illini defender could pounce on it.
After trading possessions, Haskins re-entered the game and led a seven-play, 73-yard drive that ended in a 22-yard touchdown pass to Binjimen Victor.
Meyer said he was pleased with the way Haskins responded to his fumble and brief benching.
"I just didn't want it to turn into a clown show, which it looked like it for a minute," Meyer said when asked about why he re-inserted his starters. "And I got to give Dwayne a lot of credit, he bounced back like that."
During his time in the game, Burrow threw incompletions on both of his pass attempts.
The quarterbacks weren't the only Buckeyes backups to earn a plethora of reps against the Illini. Third-string running back Antonio Williams carried the ball a career-high 19 times for 74 yards in mop-up duty, while walk-on Jared Drake even earned a carry for four yards.
Many defensive reserves also got playing time against the hapless Illini offense. Freshman cornerback Marcus Williamson saw time with the first-team defense as a nickel back and earned a tackle. Fellow freshman corner Jeffrey Okudah also saw extended time with the Buckeye defense, recording four tackles and recovering a muffed Illinois punt in the third quarter. Sophomore defensive end Jonathon Cooper recorded three tackles, including a pair of sacks against Illinois quarterback Chayce Crouch.
Other reserve players that recorded tackles defensively included Jahsen Wint, Justin Hilliard and Isaiah Pryor.
Safety Jordan Fuller Does Not Play
Ohio State starting safety Jordan Fuller was dressed for the game against Illinois, but did not see action against the Illini as senior Erick Smith earned the start and notched a team-high six tackles.
Fuller had split time with Smith for the first four games of the season, before Smith was suspended for undisclosed reasons and missed games against Rutgers and Maryland. Fuller took over the full-time starting role against Rutgers and led Ohio State in tackles entering the game against Illinois, with 54 stops on the year.
It was not disclosed why Fuller did not play against Illinois.
