Ohio State is in the thick of the Big Ten race, and a victory Saturday over Illinois (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) would be essential to its drive. Then the 12th-ranked Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1) will play Northwestern at home and close out the regular season at Michigan.
Ohio State goes into the Illinois game third in the conference behind Penn State and Wisconsin (both 8-1, 5-1), who’ll meet Saturday.
After watching his Illini lose to Penn State 63-10 and Wisconsin 41-24 at home the last two Saturdays and checking out the Ohio State game films, Illini coach Ron Zook sees problems.
“If we kick off, it’s Ted Ginn and how fast he is,” Zook said. “If they kick off, it’s the defense and three of the better linebackers in the country–A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel.”
As for the Illini, Zook said it seems like “once we fix something here, something pops up over there.”
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Next: Sat. at Ohio State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
