Bucks took foot off gas, still dominated in win over Illini

Life is officially surreal when even Paul Finebaum admits a Big Ten team is the best in the nation.

The defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, currently ranked #1 in the country, beat #17 Illinois 34-16 on Saturday and are 6-0. In the second quarter, with OSU up 20-0, the Illinois stadium speakers blared the song “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”

Was that Illibuck channeling Captain and Tennille to say he’s tired of being in Columbus?

Even though the Buckeyes looked a bit sluggish at times, committing seven penalties and, as Ryan Day said afterward, “we took our foot off the gas” in the second half, they still dominated where it counts: the scoreboard.

Three forced turnovers by the defense, two involving cornerback Jermaine Matthews, Jr, gave Ohio State several short field opportunities that ended with touchdowns. One turnover was a tipped pass by Matthews to linebacker Payton Pierce, the first interception of the season by Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer. Matthews later stripped Altmyer of the ball into the hands of defensive end Caden Curry.

The other turnover, which was ruled a fumble, was a simple case of defensive lineman Kayden McDonald wrapping up a running back and saying, “You have the ball. I’ll take that.”

Illinois also essentially turned the ball over when its punter had to kneel to grab a low snap. His knee touched the ground and gave the Buckeyes possession at the spot.

Carnell Tate, fresh off a career day against Minnesota, only had four catches but continued his weekly sideline catch clinic, grabbing yet another pass in acrobatic fashion and getting both feet down (just because he could) to move the chains.

A collective hush engulfed Buckeye Nation when Jeremiah Smith, who was upended by seemingly invisible Illinois cornerback Torrie Cox, landed awkwardly and briefly left the game. Smith had two lead blockers on the play. Incredibly, neither attempted to block Cox, who shortly afterward sent Bo Jackson to the sideline with an apparent ankle injury.

What would losing Smith do to this offense? None of us want to think about the answer to that question.

Speaking of Jackson, the true freshman running back with the ultra-cool name, why not make him the feature back? He’s obviously risen higher than CJ Donaldson and James Peoples, at least from a touches per game perspective, but continues to live in a time share. The check engine light on the running game is on. Averaging 2.9 yards per carry like they did Saturday is a problem that needs a solution.

One cool situation you might not have noticed involved Smith and Illini defensive back Juice Clarke, who shadowed Smith the entire game. In the fourth quarter, both were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for pulling at each other’s jerseys and face-masks at the end of a play.

Surely, there were some colorful words exchanged during that confrontation. And Julian Sayin certainly noticed. Three plays later, Smith torched Clarke in the corner of the end zone for Ohio State’s final score.

Illinois outgained Ohio State in total yards, 295-272, mostly because of the defense forcing turnovers and giving the offense short putts. But, the Buckeyes looked mostly bored in this game after going ahead 20-0. Hopefully, they aren’t getting lulled to sleep by success.

The Buckeyes travel to Madison, Wisconsin next week to take on former OSU coach Luke Fickell and his Badgers. A bye week follows, then a home game against James Franklin-less Penn State, then the November countdown to the Connor Stalions’ game begins.

O – H!