Julian Sayin threw two touchdowns and C.J. Donaldson ran for two as the Ohio State Buckeyes retained the IlliBuck trophy with a 34-16 win over Illinois in Champaign.
Ohio State's defense forced three turnovers, which led to twenty-one points in the victory.
Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) travels to struggling Wisconsin next Sunday.
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1) Illinois became the first team to score two touchdowns this season against Ohio State, but it took a trick play to finally score one (after three shots had failed), and the other was in garbage time.
Another outstanding defensive performance.
2) Ohio State had a scare when Jeremiah Smith fell awkwardly and left the game.
Smith would return and finish with five catches for forty-two yards and a touchdown.
3) I did find Bret Bielema's comments after the game humorous.
Bielema stated his mistake was not moving to a hurry-up offense sooner because Ohio State's defense "couldn't do shit with it".
Well, much of Illinois's success was against a softer zone, so keep that in mind.
4) Illinois QB Luke Altmyer hadn't thrown an interception all season until his first drive against Ohio State.
Jermaine Matthews tipped the pass, and Payton Pierce grabbed the interception.
5) Bo Jackson caught a swing pass and took it seventeen yards for the score for his only touchdown, with a dive to complete the play.
Jackson only carried the ball ten times for forty-seven yards in the win.
6) Kayden McDonald earned a fumble force and a fumble recovery when he removed the ball from the arms of Illinois' Ca'lil Valentine.
McDonald just took it from Valentine as routine.
7) Earlier, I mentioned Jermaine Matthews forcing one turnover, and he forced another later when he hit Luke Altmyer, making him drop the ball, which Caden Curry recovered.
Matthews' play this season hasn't been a surprise, but it's been a key to the defensive success.
8) This was the 100th game since starting the IlliBuck trophy, and Ohio State won for the first time since 2017, as they hadn't played since a 52-14 OSU win.
9) I personally like the IlliBuck, and it's the only trophy that Ohio State plays for.
I don't consider Illinois a rival, but it's still cool, and I wish OSU had more trophy games.
10) The problem is that starting trophy games now will seem so artificial and likely have a "sponsored by" on the trophy somewhere.
"It's the battle for the Dump Truck brought to you by GMC"
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