Ohio State tromps Illinois 60-35

The national media may not have been impressed with the 60-35 win by Ohio State over Illinois,but it was never in question to me.
Carlos Hyde didn't start,but finished with 248 yards rushing with four touchdowns and Braxton Miller finished with over 300 yards of total offense and two more scores for the now 10-0 Buckeyes.
Ohio State will finish their home schedule next week against Indiana....

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1) Look,this game was never in danger,but allowing 35 points to a now 3-7 team doesn't look great from the outside looking in.
The defense didn't play great,but considering they had two starting linebackers out and Joey Bosa on the bench for the second half,it could have been worse...

2) Joey Bosa and Noah Spence are going to be two loads to block next year,
Bosa had two and a half sacks in the first half before leaving early in the third quarter.
That might have been the key in Illinois scoring points in the second half as Nathan Scheelhaase began to escape from the pocket where he was being dumped by Bosa.

3) Carlos Hyde did not start due to a "classroom issue",but was dominant.
Hyde has not only improved to the point of helping this team,he has helped himself rise in the NFL draft rankings with his season.

4) The wind was heavy,no doubt about it,but Braxton Miller was struggling anyway through the air.
Fortunately,Miller's legs weren't affected as he rushed for over 180 yards on the day.
When Miller struggled in the second half,it was when OSU was forced to throw.

5) Boy,did this game DRAG! Almost four hours long,college football really needs to look at some ways to speed up televised games.

6) The announcers for this one,Brian Griese and Dave Pasch were not just bad,but they were unrelentingly brutal on Illinois coach Tim Beckman.
Granted,Illinois is bad and fights on the sidelines with your coaches (it happened in this one) does not make your program look like one running smoothly,but it seemed like every call the guy made-they were ripping.
I didn't have a dog in that fight,but they seemed way too hard on a guy that has only two recruiting classes (one of them short notice) in tow....

7) I didn't like the special teams allowing a punt for a TD.
Poor tackling as the defenders appeared to be pushing with their blockers rather than being aggressive.
An easy fix,but one that needs to be addressed.

8) Urban Meyer clearly was not happy with the team at the half and I'm sure that he will be no different following the game as the second half was not sharp either.
This is far from a perfect team and with michigan and Michigan State on the horizon,some refining is needed...

9) I like the new Illinois helmet with the state with the I in the borders.
I like stuff that incorporates the state into the logos and field design.
Ohio State uses the state of Ohio at center court for basketball,but I would love to see them put them in the corners of the end zone too....

10) Did the Buckeyes get "style points"? Likely not.
However the W is more important than anything else,ask Stanford....

Photo Credit;Marvin Fong-Cleveland Plain Dealer