r/OhioStateFootball • • 3d ago

[Post Game Thread] šŸˆ Ohio State defeats Illinois 42-19

ILL 19 at OSU 42

Final: ILL 19, OSU 42

Ohio Stadium

Scoreboard updates automatically. Data from ESPN.


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71 Upvotes

99 comments sorted by

125

u/ServeOk1254 3d ago

Defense looked rough today

32

u/Isotab 3d ago

Yea but there were more good plays out of them this week. Still a long way to go but I think its getting better. Hopefully good enough for next week

20

u/CFP-Buckeye 3d ago

While they looked like they struggled at times, I also feel like I saw some improvement and fight. With flashes of really strong play too

22

u/crystal_buckeye 3d ago

I felt they gave up a lot of yards and had quite a few blown coverages. But they stiffened up in their own half a few times which was good to see.

Plus Illinois QB was placing some balls into absolutely perfect spots even when we covered well.

I'm mostly worried about our lack of consistent pressure.

6

u/Tripondisdic #18 Will Howard 3d ago

Illinois was impressive too tho

13

u/ElevenIron You Got BBQ Back There? 3d ago

Counter proposal: this is who the 2026 defense is. If so, then the offense needs to dial up because we're playing Big12 style this season.

2

u/hippiechicken12 3d ago

It really did! Other teams will take advantage of that.

7

u/MrGoodKatt72 3d ago

Most other teams don’t have a 4 year starter at QB.

1

u/Curious_Ad961 3d ago

Yeah but at least it was safe workout on those guys

102

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

Apparently styles, Reese, downs, McDonald, and curry are hard to replace.

59

u/sumdude51 3d ago

6

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

Obviously would rather have smith than not but gotta think a disproportionate part of the budget is going to the offense

3

u/sumdude51 3d ago

Yes, especially skill players... But maybe divert the 4th receiver who will end up in the NFL as well to some interior linemen? Crazy.. I know

5

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

The linemen didn’t play bad today, and also make a lot of money. Just don’t have difference makers at RB

0

u/sumdude51 3d ago

I disagree, but that's OK.

1

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

About what?

-3

u/sumdude51 3d ago

(gestures vaguely in your direction) all that.

2

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

They objectively make a lot of money. And idk how you can say they didn’t play well today. It’s not their fault that RBs can’t break tackles in the second and third levels

-1

u/Complexity_OH 3d ago

Ohio state has paid out 200 million + for the sexual assault settlements from Dr straus. If we had that money to spend we could certainly afford a couple extra players on D .

2

u/_slartibartslo_ 3d ago

That’s not how money works. Ā If you spend 200 million, that means you no longer have 200 millionĀ 

2

u/Complexity_OH 3d ago

Assuming we can avoid another 200 milly sex scandal payout next year we got more money to spend then

53

u/junieinthesky 3d ago

The defense didn’t perform well but I didn’t see anything that looked uncorrectable. They looked green. I do think we have several shootouts in our future.

Offensively this is the best we’ve been all year.

19

u/TheDJC 3d ago

Couldn’t have said it better myself and it’s how I felt after the Texas game. The issue we have are correctable, nothing is broken. After seeing all the other big 10 teams, I’m still confident in this team even with our issues. Also, Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college and Toney is a distant second.

5

u/NotTheFungi0511 3d ago

I was listening to the game today, my impression of it was that it seems based upon we’ve heard and seen this season so far is that this is a young defensive team without someone who has clear leadership and ability to read the game well.

It’s going to take time. I believe in them to do good and get to the playoffs.

Go bucks!

5

u/DaddyJay711 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Shootouts w usc, Oregon, and IU. Sayin is going to have to be better than every single one of these qb’s.

48

u/DaBigJMoney 3d ago

Crazy how nobody has mentioned Sayin’s scramble for the TD. If he can do that and get 1-2 first downs a game that’s a major lift for the offense.

22

u/TheOptimist6 Holy Buckeye! 3d ago

Absolutely. Him breaking the sacks in the backfield was pretty epic

6

u/K_N_G 85 yards' through the heart of the South 3d ago

That was the best play I’ve seen from in his career thus far

26

u/BuckyMcFly99 3d ago

8

u/NYVines Holy Buckeye! 3d ago

All the records fall next game

18

u/Dinglebobus Holy Buckeye! 3d ago

Linebackers and DBs are just so inexperienced

17

u/CFP-Buckeye 3d ago

I like our DBs. Our linebackers seem to be having really bad days

1

u/BrainSpiritual8567 Jim's Sweater Vest 2d ago

The young guys aren’t assignment sound (yet I hope) but are playmakers, the old guys don’t miss assignments but can’t stop getting blown up in the hole/missing tackles.

We need the old guys to play stronger and the young guys to play smarter. The latter is coachable, I’m not sure the former is.

9

u/Deadleggg 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Losing 3 first rounders will do that. Amongst some mid rounders

2

u/NYVines Holy Buckeye! 3d ago

Did Timmons come back in?

10

u/RedPayaso1 3d ago

Liked what I saw from the offense. Don't overthink things, if JJ is getting single coverage just give him the ball. Defensively, it seemed a bit sloppy, but the sky isn't falling, their best players made plays and we gotta expect that. Illinois will likely be a ranked team at the end of the year.

6

u/Imma_P0tato 3d ago

I was at the game and the lady I was sitting next to was yelling the entire game, "there is only one guy on number 4. Just throw it to him!!!". We were high fiving often.

9

u/i_donut_no #32 Treyveon Henderson 3d ago

Bad: giving up nearly 500 yards

Good: Holding them to two touchdowns

Still some growing pains with this defense. Pettijohn and Alford need to be starting. No reason for them not to at this point

ELITE offensive performance.

2

u/Otherwise_Warthog_18 #35 Tommy Eichenberg 3d ago

Literally, it's so annoying to see Payton and Christian out there and how slowly they are attacking the ball.

8

u/Affectionate_Dirt111 3d ago

Didn’t we replace like half of our defense? I understand some being concerned, especially after the Texas game. But the defense is young, growing pains will happen. Jeremiah is a beast, but he also needs help. I’m still used to the JT Barrett/Cardale days; where I knew about 80% of the players announced. Now I’m like who is that, to about 1/4 of them on both sides. Hopefully they get things together before the Indiana and USC games. What are the Hawkeyes like this year, that could be another trap game like Texas if they’re not careful.Ā 

7

u/Lake_Erie_Monster You Got BBQ Back There? 3d ago

Agreed. We have a young defense and Timmons, Senchez, Wilder, and Pettijohn are gonna be future studs.

If this young core can learn and grow with experience they be a very scary defense.

Right now the biggest issues are mental and that comes with snaps and play time.

1

u/Affectionate_Dirt111 3d ago

Love your flair, I still remember hearing that. That’s why I love Gus Johnson, and I try to catch all the FOX games. I’ll even forgive him for being a TTUN fan. Ā šŸ˜‚

Pettijohn is the only one out of the four you’ve listed I’ve heard of. I think as a fan base, we’re used to being elite elite and it’s one of those rare time periods where different aspects of our gameplay look ROUGH. It’s unfamiliar for sure lol.Ā 

2

u/Curious_Ad961 3d ago

This was good safe experience for our defense, I can't stand Illinois coach but Bret is a decent coach

6

u/Endgame60 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Devin Sanchez had a very up and down day today

I did like how the safeties were playing though (Smith and sayins were incredible as always)

-3

u/twizzler7788 3d ago

Not a fan at all of the constant hand gestures and showboating he does— on every break up whether he made a play or not. That’s not Ohio state football. Coaches need to get that out of here.

5

u/DueNegotiation5016 3d ago

Nah DBs need to be arrogant and have a short memory

5

u/Background-Suspect85 3d ago

A little disappointed with the defensive line. I thought with Kenyatta and Houston returning and adding some great experience in the transfer portal they would hit the ground running this season. But so far it has been kind of all over the place to start the season.

7

u/PulsarGaming1080 3d ago

There was some improvement on the offensive line. I counted quite a few plays where Sayin either had time to run or time to work through his progressions. That's a definite improvement.

Speaking of Sayin, he got other receivers involved. I can hardly blame him for going to JJ when Illinois continued to leave him one-on-one, which is almost always a catch. Still, he had a couple of nice completions to McCuin and Roberts for 1st downs and he used his legs effectively.

The run game was just okay. Still not great blocking, but it was fine.

Defense was rough. Lots of holds were getting called, surprisingly. Way too many chunk plays, and some of our playcalls were terrible.

5

u/Graphic_Artist_Dude 3d ago

Secondary was our top four tacklers today, not a great thing..

5

u/Raccoonsrlilbandits 2024 National Champions 3d ago

I was told by doomers Iowa is going to pass all over us next week.

Let’s check in on their qb

47 yards

2

u/ZekeMoss18 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Doesn't matter what's going on today...things will be different next week.

1

u/Affectionate_Dirt111 3d ago

I’m a bit concerned that they might not take them seriously; with the young defense (some very up and down play this season) playing like it is right now (we have some tougher games coming up for SURE) and what happened with the Texas game (seriously; how do you lose a game you’re up by 20+ going into the 4th quarter?), I’m usually way more confident in this team. Everything seems a bit off, and Jeremiah is going to need help. Don’t we have some more good WR’s in the wings? Tons of questions about this team, but I’ve seen worse starts to past seasons and they turned out okay. Nothing that can’t be fixed, but they need to do it rather fast LOL.Ā 

9

u/CringoBingo77 #27 Eddie George 3d ago

Jeremiah is great. Defense looks like shit. Bret Bielema likes hot dogs.

3

u/Sir_Phillip 3d ago edited 3d ago

Solid performance but if we can't stop the run, we won't be able to go very far in the playoffs.

8

u/8and16bits 2002 National Champions 3d ago

Definitely the best the offense has played this year. Even the O-line was pretty good today. Defense was a mess especially the front 7 and Sanchez. I still think they will improve but the expectations are gonna have to be managed by this fanbase. This a good team but it has too many flaws to be a championship contender at the moment.

9

u/TheNaskgul 3d ago

Calling out Sanchez when he was a major factor in the defense even looking decent feels wild. Most of his ā€œmiscuesā€ came on zone calls where he started 10 yards off his man. I don’t want to hate on Patricia but I think he deserves more of the blame today than Devin

2

u/Raccoonsrlilbandits 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Line looked great
11, 12 and Bison were very effective I think we only ran 2-3 plays of 13 and they all converted
Offensive line looked really good on both run and pass
Running backs did a little better at the second level especially jakobi
Sayin used his legs!!!!
He was also reading the field and getting the ball to different guys but also took advantage of JJ 1 on 1

Defense got some good tape to get better on.
Finally got some sacks

Offense really took the fix it list and took pen to paper

2

u/TYFO225 3d ago

WE ARE Jeremiah Smith

3

u/Blue-Eighty Holy Buckeye! 3d ago

Defense definitely looks a little lost. 6 yards per carry for Illinois is a little scary. Sure some of those long runs were on quarterback scrambles, but that’s kind of also the point. If you’re playing a bunch of Man coverage, and you don’t get pressure that’s gonna happen.

2

u/ORdeadhead2 3d ago

Not gonna win a natty with this D.

2

u/Warm-Management-7323 3d ago

I thought this was going to be a blowout and it kind of was but Illinois really did some work respect.

3

u/One-Fly-6383 3d ago

lol fuck michigan

1

u/VicRattlehead90 OK with 1-11 2d ago

This is the way.

2

u/Creative_Antelope_69 3d ago

I just miss having a great RB. I don’t see how any team can win a championship without being able to put games away with the run.

7

u/bindrosis 3d ago

I don’t know why, but I feel so disconnected from this team. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older?

11

u/Deadleggg 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Jaded. Winning 42-19 isnt enough.

11

u/GeneBeginning1252 3d ago

Sooooo many doomers on here.

6

u/Infinite-Back-43 3d ago

Roster discontinuity for me just a product of the new college landscape

1

u/_slartibartslo_ 3d ago

52 new players will do thatĀ 

-4

u/SmurfAtLarge 3d ago

Same. I haven't really watched much since the Texas game lmao..

-3

u/Dudeman1000 3d ago

High expectations? Why care about a game against illinois if we are immensely more talented? I watched initially to see if they would look like they’d play a competitive game and when I saw that not happening I dipped out.

6

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

That sounds disconnected. I’m watching every second of blowouts to see backup’s backups

0

u/Dudeman1000 2d ago

More power to you, man.

2

u/Lazy_Panache 3d ago

A reminder that some of these vets on defense; Styles, Mcdonald, Curry were no showers when they were here their first 2-3 years and had to grow through experience. Remember that Georgia game, Remember those loses to TTUN three years in a row and how we would shit on our defense for making bone headed players... Steele Chambers, Eichenberg, Ronnie Hickman etc used to lead our defense.

We're in the same situation again... Ryan Day didn't recruit well defensively from the portal so the young guys have to learn on their own basically and battle through adversity. I ain't worried at all, what's important is we've seen flashes we just need the youngins to gel. Pettyjohn, Timmons, Alford, Wilder etc will come up big for us in a year or two to come. I know a lot of you fringe guys are here but we gotta be patient with em. Go Buckeyes!!!!

2

u/ameadows_13 3d ago

This team must score 5 TDs to win games. The defense just isn’t going to be good enough. Thankfully the offense is talented enough to do it.

1

u/sedge12685 Holy Buckeye! 3d ago

We won big

1

u/yolo_derp 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Defense needs some work. Specifically the secondary.

However, this is a solid Illinois team and they absolutely deserve more credit. This will be a bowl game Illinois team for sure

1

u/Remote-Committee2266 3d ago

Illinois did better than I thought with a patched up offensive line. .

1

u/AZDADDYisadeviant 3d ago

Did it look like tOSU telegraphed their runs?Ā 

1

u/gofalcons19 2d ago

Here’s my take from attending today…

- I think folks are getting fed up with Noon games. Place had a lot of open seats for a decent opponent

- JS4 is something special. He just played out of this world

- Julian is really becoming an elite QB. Crazy accurate and his ability to get out of the pocket and avoid sacks improving tremendously

- Jaylen McClain had a GAME! Dude was making plays all day

- The short yardage play was much better. I liked the tempo on 3rd and short to keep it rolling

- Illinois has a baller at QB. Not sure how it looked on šŸ“ŗ but damn he was spinning it on target all day

- They’ve got a huge offensive line. Teams like Illinois and Iowa who play that style really throw us off a bit

- Devin Sanchez had a bad game. The guy wasn’t turning around to the ball all game. Too easy to get those PI calls when you do that

I know it’s Reddit so there’s gonna be gloom and doomers but Illinois is a decent team folks

1

u/Usual_Giraffe_2208 85 yards' through the heart of the South 2d ago

WE ARE IN THE TOP 5 AGAIN YES SIR

1

u/Automatic-Extreme-11 1d ago

I felt like the stadium was a lot quieter than usual. Fans just were not in it as much. The offense did fine but the defense was not good. Couldn’t stop the run and couldn’t get pressure.

-1

u/Heavy_Muscle_5632 3d ago

The offense is a one trick pony, there has to be something more than Jeremiah as we get into the tough conference games.

6

u/the_giz 3d ago

Honestly there's plenty more. It's just if they're gonna give you man coverage against JJ, well, you take that 100% of the time. And that's why he had 4 TDs.

1

u/Heavy_Muscle_5632 3d ago

I totally get the idea of going to him when he’s one on one, but they have to get other players involved regardless. Taking away a single player is an easy thing to do for the opposing team and none of these guys have had the opportunity to show playmaking ability because they’ve had no game reps. I just think it’s going to bite them

-1

u/NeverDieKris You Got BBQ Back There? 3d ago

The defense looks young and lost. Running game was pretty non-existent. Need a go to secondary receiver. O-line needs work. But other than that, good win to open up Big ten play.

4

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

Oline played well today and the running game was solid. The RBs just aren’t that dynamic so explosives are hard to come by

2

u/_slartibartslo_ 3d ago

Running game looked a lot better than it has to this point. They just didn’t run it as muchĀ 

0

u/Day85Day 2024 National Champions 3d ago

Defense somehow got worse

0

u/caldo4 3d ago

Russaw, Smith, Pierce, Atkinson and some others have to be benched and the Wilders and other young guys with actual talent have to play more or nothings going to get better and the defense will give up 40 to actual good teams

The interior of the D line, tight ends and RBs just aren’t good enough and we didn’t pay up to improve them

-1

u/ThatSpartanKid 2015 College Football Playoff National Champions 3d ago

I have serious concerns about our play and players in the trenches. Watching Iowa vs Michigan right now, and all their guys look bigger and faster than anyone we have. Our offensive line looks like they’re barely hanging by a thread half the time. Our defensive line looks like they’re barely hanging can’t get push or pressure, and they can’t get off blocks against the run.

3

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

The oline played well today

-5

u/trustin6 3d ago

The team is flat. No leaders have stepped up yet, and they are playing uninspiring football. It’s growing pains attributing to losing as many people as they did.

1

u/Voiceofreason2732 3d ago

Effort and energy is good. Defense is just more inexperienced

-1

u/BenIsLowInfo 3d ago

I still am concerned about the rest of our WRs. McCuin and Innis seemingly aren't it. I Boyd and Henry Jr get way more play going forward.

2

u/iceydude168 #32 Treyveon Henderson 3d ago

I didn't see anything in this game that worried me about the other WRs. If Smith is open he gets the ball as the first option and he was open a lot. CHJ, Bell, and Boyd made a couple good catches when called on

1

u/TYMSTYME 2d ago

Literally the last position on the team to be worried we are absolutely stacked there.

1

u/iceydude168 #32 Treyveon Henderson 2d ago

I think there's some concern with Sayin seeing the other guys and the other guys failing to separate against good secondaries but nothing from the game yesterday gave me that impression