Game Ten: #1 tOSU 17, Illinois 10 (11/4/06)

[BuckeyeFan_InTx]

Bucks should dominate no problem!

[Tlangs]

Originally Posted by DaddyBigBucks

They were upset by the Bobcats because they were looking ahead to Wisconsin. They then went on to give the Badgers one heck of a game. Even if they'd won, the general trend of such things is for a team to be emotionally spent and have a bit of a down game the week afterwards.

Illinois lost a heartbreaker though. Not only did they shoot their wad against Wisconsin, they gave up a soul-crushing comeback.

They'll talk a good game this week. Most teams do.

But after a quick score or two on Saturday, the Illini are going to fold like origami.

Keep in mind that the Bobcats are currently in 1st place in the MAC east. I beleive theyare 6-3 right now. It's not like Illinois was beat by buffalo. Ohio U has beaten Northern Illinois and Illinois this year. Those are 2 good wins for the bobcats.

[osugrad21]

Link

Staying close won't be easy against No. 1 Ohio State

By Stu Durando

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

10/30/2006

Illinois has made a habit in the past month of playing games that are decided in the final minutes, battling everyone from Ohio University to nationally ranked Wisconsin down to the wire.

But next on the schedule is an opponent that doesn't tend to get into close games.

No. 1 Ohio State will visit Champaign on Saturday and is coming off yet another lopsided victory, having pummeled Minnesota 44-0. Even No. 2 Michigan received a test over the weekend against Northwestern, but the Buckeyes keep on rolling with little trouble.

"There's a reason why they're No. 1,'' Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "They're No. 1 deservedly so. They're the cream of the crop, and they're playing that way. I don't think it's any secret.''




The Illini suffered another tough defeat and now have a four-game losing streak. In each game they have been within a touchdown with possession in the closing minutes, only to fall short.

Ohio State, on the other hand, has put games away early. The Buckeyes' closest game was a 24-7 win over Texas on the road. Otherwise, their closest margin of victory was 21 points.

Zook was asked how Ohio State has been able to seemingly distance itself from the competition in the Big Ten.

"I think probably high school football in the state of Ohio is very good,'' he said. "Their coaches do a great job, but they've done a great job cultivating that and getting players that fit their system. A lot of times people get caught up in whether a recruit is five stars or whatever. What matters is the guys that fit into your program.''

Several Illinois players suffered ankle injuries against Wisconsin, the most severe being offensive lineman Charles Myles. Defensive end Derek Walker and defensive back Travon Bellamy also were injured but showed improvement Sunday.

[osugrad21]

Canton

Smith still sees room for improvement with OSU offense
Monday, October 30, 2006
By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

COLUMBUS - After throwing for a touchdown and running for another, Troy Smith?s toughest work was ahead of him. He had just ran up three flights of stairs from the Ohio State locker room to the interview room.
The 6-foot fifth-year senior was out of breath, but not out of answers or questions about his own offense.
The Buckeyes shrugged off a struggling Minnesota team, 44-0, Saturday at Ohio Stadium and immediately started talking up Illinois.
However, Smith criticized Ohio State?s offense first.
Which might be a stretch considering Buckeye punter A.J. Trapasso could have taken the afternoon off. The OSU offense never punted, is 10th in the country in scoring, and leads the nation with a 29-points per game margin of victory.
?Offensively, we?ve still got work to do,? said Smith, who completed 14-of-21 for 183 yards and ran six times for 43 yards. ?Putting points on the board is cool, but I guess the way you do it, how you do it is the most important thing. We?ve just got to keep rolling.?
Things don?t get much tougher this week. Ohio State heads to Illinois and Northwestern the next two weeks. Both teams are 2-7, or very much like the Golden Gophers.
The Buckeyes are the unanimous No. 1 in the coaches? poll and have all but two first-place votes in the writers? poll. Michigan is No. 2 in both polls and West Virginia, which plays at No. 5 Louisville on Thursday night, is No. 3.
The Buckeyes grasp on the BCS rankings didn?t change. They?re still No. 1 and Michigan is second. USC?s loss does make a Buckeye-Wolverine rematch in the national title game a possibility, but it?s still a reach. OSU and Michigan are two of six unbeaten teams and only three of them could finish the season that way.
The worst part of the Minnesota win was Ohio State?s three turnovers. Freshman Chris Wells lost a fumble, Smith was stripped once and Malcolm Jenkins muffed a punt.
?It is distressing, there is no question about it,? Tressel said. ?We?re not going to be as good a football team as we?d like to be if we continue to fumble the ball.?
But the Buckeye defense has not allowed a touchdown in nine sudden-change possessions. There is a bit of relief for the offense.
?We talk about sudden change and how very important it is,? said linebacker James Laurinaitis, who finished with 11 tackles and a sack. ?We?ve done a great job with that and we need to continue to do a great job. ... When we keep the opposing team out of the end zone, it gives out offense a chance to do some damage, and we know they can do damage.?
Minnesota Head Coach Glen Mason heaped praise on Ohio State after watching his team be dismantled. However, the postgame handshake between the two coaches, who once coached together at OSU and are friendly, was cool at best.
Mason never stopped to talk to Tressel, who appeared surprised at first. Instead, the OSU graduate kept jogging while sticking his hand out.
The Golden Gophers didn?t do much defensively. Ohio State had 484 total yards, 266 of those on the ground.
Yet the Buckeyes found several ways to criticize a 44-0 win.
?We have high expectations on this team,? defensive end Jay Richardson said. ?It?s nice to get a shutout. Beside it being good for the stats, it?s good for the confidence and emotional level of our team.
?We?re striving to be perfectionist. We go into a game not worried so much about what they do. It?s more about what we do. Can we be better than we were the last week? Can we be the best team we can be? If we are, there should be no problem at all.?
Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: todd.porter@cantonrep.com

[osugrad21]

Link

Weak foes or not, OSU running the ball effectively
BY JIM NAVEAU - Oct. 30, 2006

COLUMBUS ? The quality of the opposition might be questionable, but Ohio State has run the ball more effectively the last two games than it has in a long time.
The Buckeyes ran for 266 yards in a 44-0 win over Minnesota on Saturday. A week earlier, they gained 270 yards rushing in a 44-3 victory over Indiana.
It has been eight years since OSU gained more yards rushing the ball in back-to-back games than it has in the last two weeks.
The last time the Buckeyes had a bigger two-game total was when they gained 255 yards on the ground in a 49-0 win over Toledo in 1998, then came back a week later for 320 more yards while beating Missouri 35-14.
Troy Smith?s 21-yard touchdown run in the third quarter Saturday was the longest gain on the ground for OSU, but it was notable for another reason. Smith scored 11 touchdowns on the ground last season, but Saturday?s was his first rushing the ball this season.
Smith?s score came on a scramble after he dropped back to pass on a third-down situation on OSU?s first possession of the second half.
?That was great to see,? Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said. ?Those guys (the offensive linemen) did a great job protecting him. He didn?t like what he saw throwing the ball, so he took off. I thought it was a big spark for us.?
JACK REMEMBERS WOODY: Professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, who became only the fifth non-band member to dot the ?I? in Script Ohio at halftime on Saturday, said he was in Ohio Stadium when one of the others, former OSU coach Woody Hayes, was given the same honor.
?I come back a lot, I?m here for quite a few football games. This is my second game this year,? Nicklaus said. ?I?ll be back for the Michigan game and then, hopefully, Arizona.
?It?s neat,? he said about Saturday?s honor. ?It?s great to be a part of this.?
SHORT YARDAGE: In 2005, Minnesota quarterback Bryan Cupito completed passes of 46, 42, 35, 32 and 26 yards against Ohio State. On Saturday, his longest completion was for 14 yards.
SECOND ON THE LIST: Freshman linebacker Ross Homan, of Coldwater, was second in tackles for OSU on Saturday with seven, most of them in the second half. Linebacker James Laurinaitis led the team witih 11 tackles.
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT: Ohio State?s opponent this Saturday, Illinois, had a 21-3 lead late in the first half on No. 17 Wisconsin on Saturday before losing 30-24.
The Illini will bring a 2-7 overall record and a 1-4 Big Ten record into the matchup with No. 1 Ohio State (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten).

[osugrad21]

Link

Jim O'Donnell Illinois, which has been knocking on the door during its four-game losing streak, doesn't appear to have much of a chance of knocking the door down Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State. But don't tell that to the Illini. "They don't scare us," safety Kevin Mitchell said. "We're going to come in fired up. We played them a nice game in the first half last year, and I think they were a better team last year, personnel-wise. If we do what we can do, there'll be a chance for us to win."
Illinois trailed 13-0 at halftime last year before losing 40-2 in Columbus.
Even though it has lost its last four games, Illinois' 30-24 loss Saturday at Wisconsin marked the first time during the skid that the Illini have been outgained. And the Badgers only had a 316-292 edge in yardage.
"We're a good defense," Mitchell said. "I believe we have that swagger, that we can go out and stop anybody. Just because they're Ohio State, that doesn't mean anything."

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

OSU Insider

(Too large to C&P)

[Zurp]

Originally Posted by osugrad21

Link

Jim O'Donnell Illinois, which has been knocking on the door during its four-game losing streak, doesn't appear to have much of a chance of knocking the door down Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State. But don't tell that to the Illini. "They don't scare us," safety Kevin Mitchell said. "We're going to come in fired up. We played them a nice game in the first half last year, and I think they were a better team last year, personnel-wise. If we do what we can do, there'll be a chance for us to win."
Illinois trailed 13-0 at halftime last year before losing 40-2 in Columbus.
Even though it has lost its last four games, Illinois' 30-24 loss Saturday at Wisconsin marked the first time during the skid that the Illini have been outgained. And the Badgers only had a 316-292 edge in yardage.
"We're a good defense," Mitchell said. "I believe we have that swagger, that we can go out and stop anybody. Just because they're Ohio State, that doesn't mean anything."

It sounds like he has the right attitude. You have to go into each game believing that your team can win, regardless of what the preception around the country is. But he's walking a fine line between being optimistic about his team's chances and becoming bulletin-board material.

[NightmaresDad]

Zook was asked how Ohio State has been able to seemingly distance itself from the competition in the Big Ten.

"I think probably high school football in the state of Ohio is very good,'' he said. "Their coaches do a great job, but they've done a great job cultivating that and getting players that fit their system. A lot of times people get caught up in whether a recruit is five stars or whatever. What matters is the guys that fit into your program.''

Truer words were never spoken, and need to be remembered when the staff goes after Player A when Player B had offers "from everybody else".

Now, regarding game predictions:
A true freshman QB with a very strong, but not terribly accurate, arm = 3 picks.
Their pass D is average.
We will score 31 in the first half and win very easily.
In case nobody's noticed, this "D" of ours has gotten hella-good!
IL and NW will be lucky to score more than 3 points each against us.

[Bleed S & G]

Originally Posted by NightmaresDad

In case nobody's noticed, this "D" of ours has gotten hella-good!

yes they have.. the whole team is still improving and thats the scary thing, typical of a JT team though, playing the best football at the end of the year and into the bowling season.

[OregonBuckeye]

This is for JT's 60th(59-13 right now) career win! Also for his 4th 10+ win season in only 6 years.

[BuckeyeGanoosh]

Originally Posted by Zurp

It sounds like he has the right attitude. You have to go into each game believing that your team can win, regardless of what the preception around the country is. But he's walking a fine line between being optimistic about his team's chances and becoming bulletin-board material.

I agree. Some of us may get a little stirred up about that, but from their point of view, it's a good thing. I would be pretty upset as a buckeye if one of our players didn't expect to win every game even in a down-year.

Whether he is saying this due to being media-friendly or whether he actually believes it is up for debate. We were not a better team last year, and he kidding himself in believing so. They should PRAY for a 13-0 halftime score. Our offense came out a little sloppy last year, and wasn't nearly as sharp as they are this season. They had the big-play ability, but Troy wasn't as in control of the offense as he is this year. (This may be splitting hairs, but he just appears so in control nearly every play)

Illinois has a mobile qb, but a heck of a lot of inexperience. That will be the killer. Our D has eaten the youngins alive this year. Expect 1 interception to every 7-10 passes thrown. Either the opposing offense's we've faced are weaker (which is arguable), or our defense IS better than last years squad.

I seriously don't expect any letdowns...we can run, we can throw, we can kick 50+ yarders, and we take the ball away a LOT.

tOSU - 45
Illini - 7

[BuckeyeMike80]

Still too early weather forecast for Champaign, Illinois:


Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 49.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Accuweather.com puts the winds in the 10-12 MPH range for the game. It should be a crisp afternoon for football in Champaign.

Updates as they become available

[Jaxbuck]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

Still too early weather forecast for Champaign, Illinois:


Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 49.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Accuweather.com puts the winds in the 10-12 MPH range for the game. It should be a crisp afternoon for football in Champaign.

Updates as they become available

Memorial Stadium is a freakin wind tunnel so it kind of makes the weather an either/or thing. Its either raining or its not. The fact that it will be cold and windy is a given.

[BuckeyeMike80]

Originally Posted by Jaxbuck

Memorial Stadium is a freakin wind tunnel so it kind of makes the weather an either/or thing. Its either raining or its not. The fact that it will be cold and windy is a given.

Yeah it seems like the weather is the same for Illinois every year. cool to cold with wind.