Officially, Ohio State is 11-0. Unofficially, the Buckeyes have seven victories and four teeth-gnashing getaways.
That could be good news for Illinois (4-6, 3-3 in the Big Ten), whose bowl dreams may hinge on how well coach Jim Tressel’s squad adapts to its Memorial Stadium.
Has the No. 1 team in the latest Bowl Championship Series standings been lucky away from home this season–or just good enough?
A little of both.
Senior middle linebacker Matt Wilhelm knows exactly how close his team is to not being unbeaten: Half a hand.
That’s Wilhelm’s description of the margin of error he had on Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli’s 8-yard fourth-down pass into the end zone with 32 seconds remaining.
Wilhelm tipped the pass away at the last moment and free safety Will Allen intercepted it to preserve Ohio State’s first way-too-close victory of the season 23-19. That near-miss, though, ranks only second on Wilhelm’s fear-o-meter to Saturday’s 10-6 victory at Purdue.
“We’ve definitely had a few close calls,” Wilhelm said.
Illinois has won three of its last four games. It still can get a bowl bid if it wins out. Memorial Stadium could be rocking as much as Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium and Wisconsin’s Camp Randall were for the Ohio State games.
This time, though, history is on Ohio State’s side. The Buckeyes have won the last four games in Champaign by a combined score of 133-33.
“There have been some times we haven’t executed well,” Tressel said. “But our kids have played tough and hard on the road, which is one of the things you need to do. We know we’ve weathered some storms on the road.”
No. 2 Ohio St. (11-0, 6-0) at Illinois (4-6, 3-3)
Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: ABC
2001 meeting: Illinois won, 34-22.
The last word: Buckeyes are struggling offensively and have scored fewer than 20 in three of their last four games. The Illini are on a roll after starting the season 1-5.
