Ohio State football: 6 things to know about matchup vs. Illinois

With kickoff scheduled for noon Saturday, here are six things to know about the Illini:

1. Illinois has had a weird season.

The Fighting Illini (2-3) were blown out 45-7 by Wisconsin in the first Big Ten game of the year and lost their next two games while having to play short-handed because of injuries, positive COVID-19 tests and the resulting contact tracing.

More than a dozen players were sidelined for losses to Purdue and Minnesota, including starting quarterback Brandon Peters, a transfer from Michigan, and tight end Griffin Moore. That pair had to sit for 21 days because they tested positive while others were sidelined for shorter periods because of contact tracing.

2. Four quarterbacks have started for the Illini in five games.

With Peters out, Matt Robinson started the second game but was injured early in the contest. Coran Taylor replaced him and also started the following week against the Golden Gophers.

Isaiah Williams, who like Peters was unavailable for games two and three, started against Rutgers and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after throwing for 104 yards and running for 192 in a 23-20 Illinois victory.

Peters completed 18 of 25 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown last week against Nebraska, a 41-23 Illinois victory.

3. Illinois started five transfers last week.

Like many coaches looking to build their program, Lovie Smith has been active on the transfer market.

That includes starters Peters, running back Chase Brown (Western Michigan), receivers Brian Hightower (Miami FL) and Josh Imatorbhebhe (USC) and defensive lineman Roderick Perry II (South Carolina State).

4. The Illini have won their last two games and shown some positive signs on both sides of the ball.

Illinois has a pair of players in the top 10 in the conference in rushing: Brown has 357 yards in five games while Mike Epstein has 338. They are averaging 5.9 and 6.1 yards per carry, respectively, and have combined for six touchdowns.

They both went over 100 yards on the ground last week against Nebraska, the second week in a row Illinois had a pair of 100-yard rushers.

On the other side of the ball, Illinois is second in the Big Ten in yards allowed per play and making a lot of plays in the opposing backfield.

Jake Hansen is third in the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 6.5 while Carney Owen is sixth with 5.5 and Khalan Tolson is 13th with 5.0. Owen leads the Big Ten with 4.5 sacks.

5. Illinois has been trying to find its way back for a while.

This is one of the more confusing programs in the Big Ten historically, and recent decades are no exception.

The program that has produced such legendary figures as Red Grange, Dick Butkus, Bobby Mitchell, Ray Nitschke and George Halas is fourth in conference history with 15 Big Ten titles.

That trails only Michigan, Ohio State and Minnesota, but Illinois has not won the league in almost 20 years, and its 2001 trophy is the only one added to the case since 1991.

Illinois claims five national championships — trailing Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan State — but is going on seven decades without one.

Smith is 17-37 as coach of the Illini, who won six games and made a bowl last season after winning nine total win his first three years in Champaign.

The last full-time coach to post a winning record at Illinois is John Mackovic, who went 30-16-1 from 1988-91. The program’s last winning season was 2011, the last under Ron Zook (who like Smith is a former Ohio State assistant).

6. Ohio State only has one rivalry trophy game, and this is it.

The Buckeyes and Fighting Illini play for the Illibuck, a wooden replica of a real Ohio snapping turtle that served as the original trophy until it proved unable to survive being passed between groups at the schools and passed away.

The Buckeyes have dominated the series overall (leading 69-30-4), including winning the last nine, but Illinois has beaten Ohio State nine times since 1988. The only team with more wins against the Buckeyes in that span is Michigan (12).

The last five Illinois wins in the series all occurred at Ohio Stadium (1992, ’94, ’99, 2001 and ’07). The Fighting Illini last beat Ohio State in Champaign was 10-7 in 1991.

This was an annual rivalry from 1914-2002.

SATURDAY’S GAME

Ohio State at Illinois, Noon, FS1, 1410