Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will crush Illinois
By Alec Hartman
Five reasons the Ohio State football team will crush Illinois, as a spot in the Big Ten title game is still on the line for the Buckeyes.
Believe it or not, senior week has arrived for the Buckeyes. Another great season is coming to a close in the Shoe where the Bucks lost just one game all year. The Bucks shouldn’t have too much trouble entertaining the fans against a weaker Illinois team.
The Bucks displayed something special last weekend against Michigan State that won’t surprise fans who have been following them closely as of late. What they showed was resilience. The Bucks always find a way to bounce back from a tough loss no matter what the circumstance is.
Instead of dwelling on their losses, the Bucks came out and beat the 12th ranked team in the country by 45 points. The Bucks haven’t lost back-to-back games since 2013. Resilience is one of the many unique qualities that not many other teams can say they have. This also says a lot about the pride that the Bucks have when it comes down to it.
The Fighting Illini have had their troubles this season to say the least. They currently own a 2-8 record and haven’t won a single game in conference play. In fact, Illinois hasn’t had a team with a record over .500 since 2011.
On the bright side, there has been some changes in Illinois’ favor. They have a new head coach in Lovie Smith. After enduring several consecutive losing seasons, the Illini fired previous head coach Tim Beckman and were able to pick up Smith to begin the 2016 season.
Smith was most well known for his long stint with the Chicago Bears where he took the team to the playoffs three times. He led the Bears to a NFC Championship win and a Super Bowl appearance in just his third season. His short tenure with the Illini hasn’t been particularly successful thus far but at least it’s a change from the mediocrity that was there previously.
Whether it’s the Bucks coming off that big win last weekend or Illinois struggling coming into this game, the Bucks need to put everything aside. This is the first game to begin the rest of their season and that’s all there is to know. If the Bucks come in focused on this game and this game only then they should be successful in the end.