3 reasons Ohio State would’ve crushed Illinois before COVID cancellation
By Alec Hartman
1. Offense would’ve kept it out of reach
Last week was the first time the Buckeyes have been contested in regards to offensive firepower. It was to be expected that the Hoosiers would come out swinging as they lead the Big Ten in passing attempts and are nearly top ten in the nation in that category. Much of the opposite is to be expected this week as the Illini are on the opposite end of the spectrum.
As much as the Buckeyes are known for their aerial attack prowess, they actually have the third least passing attempts in the conference. Just ahead of the Buckeyes is Illinois who also make up the lower end in terms of passing attempts. That is where the similarities between the Buckeyes and Illini ended, as the Buckeyes are near the top of the Big Ten in passing yards per game and the Illini are at the very bottom.
A paltry 159 passing yards per game on average with just four touchdowns is not something that are going to ring bells against the Buckeyes. Even with three interceptions and many more punts than usual, Justin Fields and the offense still put up 35 points. It wasn’t a good sign for the Illini when the opposing quarterback throws half your team’s season total touchdowns in his worst game.
The Illini are led by quarterback transfer from Michigan by the name of Brandon Peters. He’s played just two games this season which included getting demolished by Wisconsin in week one and a convincing victory last week over Nebraska. With that being said, it’s hard to gauge what version of Peters the Buckeyes will see even though it would be fair to expect the outcome will be similar to what Wisconsin served.
Peters has thrown just one touchdown this season but has no interceptions. He had an efficient and productive game against Nebraska with 205 passing yards, one touchdown, and seven incompletions. The Illini have done the vast majority of their work in the run game. They rank just behind the Buckeyes and second in the conference in rushing yards per game.
In fact, the Illini have two players within the top five in the conference in total rushing yards. Those players are running backs Chase Brown and Mike Epstein. Both backs average six yards per carry and have combined for six touchdowns.
Having a consistent run game is nice but it has been to their demise as they cannot keep up with the opposition when run game falls out of game script when they’re behind. The Illini are near the bottom of the Big Ten in scoring offense while the Buckeyes lead the conference.
The Buckeyes wold’ve easily run away with this one without looking back.
Next. Justin Fields could be a top-level pro quarterback. dark