Last Updated on September 28, 2010 9:30 pm by Anthony Rome
Ohio State vs. Illinois Preview
Champaign, IL – After enjoying its most prolific scoring performance in 60 years, Ohio State knows the path toward a BCS title will get a little tougher beginning Saturday.
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That’s when the No. 2 Buckeyes head out on the road for the first time this season with their Big Ten opener against Illinois.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made Ohio State –17 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against Illinois. Current NCAA Public Betting Information shows that 80% of more than 1,794 bets for this game have been placed on Ohio State -17.
Ohio State (4-0) travels to Champaign following a 73-20 rout of Eastern Michigan, the most points scored by the Buckeyes since an 83-21 victory over Iowa in 1950.
Terrelle Pryor had a hand in six of his team’s 10 touchdowns, including a 20-yard reception from former high school teammate Jordan Hall. Pryor also threw four TDs to Dane Sanzenbacher and rushed for a 53-yard score.
Pryor was still in high school when the Buckeyes lost at home to Illinois after starting 10-0 in 2007, but he likely remembers last season’s 26-18 upset loss at Purdue which effectively ended the team’s hopes of reaching the BCS championship game.
“It’s a whole different world when you go into conference play,” coach Jim Tressel said. “It’s more heavyweight bout than it is a style show.”
As they attempt to win a record-tying sixth consecutive Big Ten title, the Buckeyes will face four of the Big Ten’s six teams that are currently in the Top 25. Ohio State won six straight conference crowns from 1972-77.
Their first fight will come against an Illinois team that’s looking to relieve some pressure on beleaguered coach Ron Zook by avoiding its third consecutive losing campaign.
The Illini (2-1) didn’t get that quest off to a strong start with a 23-13 loss to Missouri in St. Louis but recorded consecutive wins over a pair of in-state schools. After knocking off Southern Illinois, they held on for a 28-22 win over Northern Illinois on Sept. 18. NIU upset Minnesota this past week.
Under first-year defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, Illinois (2-1) has given up 16.0 points per game after allowing an average of 30.2 last season. Junior running back Mikel Leshoure has thrived in new offensive coordinator’s Paul Petrino’s system by topping 100 yards in each game – including a season-best 180 against Northern Illinois – and is seventh in rushing in the FBS (132.7 ypg).
“He’s really kind of matured,” said Zook, an Ohio native and former defensive backs coach under John Cooper at Ohio State from 1989-90. “We saw it coming with him through spring football, this summer. He had a great offseason. … He’s got the ability, we felt like, to be a big-time back.”
Illinois, though, has lost seven in a row at home to Ohio State since its last win in 1991. The Illini have also dropped seven straight to ranked opponents since beating the Buckeyes, including last season’s 30-0 defeat in Columbus.
The Buckeyes rushed for 236 yards in that game and had 305 on the ground in their 30-20 victory at Illinois in 2008. Pryor ran for 110 yards and a touchdown in that win, and was one of three players with at least 50 yards in last season’s matchup.
Brandon Saine had a team-best 81, and Dan Herron had 75 yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns. Their combined output nearly matched Illinois’ 170 yards on offense.
In this game, the Illini could be without starting guard Hugh Thornton, who was arrested this weekend following a fight at a bar. The 19-year-old sophomore from Oberlin, Ohio, was not charged in the fight but admitted to using someone’s else ID to get inside.
Thornton is still practicing, but Zook has not decided if he will play.
Champaign County attorney Julia Rietz has reportedly filed paperwork to revoke Thornton’s court supervision from a 2009 arrest for unlawful consumption of alcohol by a minor. Rietz said Thornton could be sentenced to up to a year in jail for the earlier misdemeanor offense.
Ohio State, which has won five of six overall against Illinois, leads the series 62-30-4 and is 33-12 in Champaign.
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