It wasn't pretty, and it honestly wasn't even close as Illinois fell to Ohio State 42-19. The Illini showed signs of life early on, but Jeremiah Smith single-handedly shut down the Illinois defense with four touchdowns on the day and over 200 receiving yards.
It is hard to think there were any winners for the Illini in this game, but some guys did show up to play. On the flip side, there were plenty to choose from for the losers' list, as Illinois just could not find an answer against the Buckeyes in Week 4.
Bret Bielema will have to go back to the drawing board after Illinois suffered its second loss of the season, and it's a loss that probably knocks them out of contention for the College Football Playoff.
Winners
WR Hudson Clement
It has been the Collin Dixon show up to this point for Illinois, but Ohio State was ready to slow down the star receiver, which opened up the game for Hudson Clement. As the WR2 for the Illini, Clement had been quiet so far this season, but led Illinois with five receptions and 87 receiving yards.
It was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to slow down Dixon, who led the country with second touchdowns coming into this game, so seeing Clement break out in this game was refreshing. Going forward, Illinois can hopefully work Clement more into the offensive scheme and take some pressure off of Dixon.
DB Matthew Bailey
It might seem crazy to see a defender on the winners list, but Matthew Bailey was busy all day long trying to stop this Ohio State offense, and he is only one man. Bailey had his hands full, but finished the day with a team-leading 14 total tackles and seven solo tackles.
Bailey has been the star Illinois knew it had on defense this season. After choosing to return to Champaign instead of heading to the NFL, Bailey has been increasing his stock for the future, and even in a loss, he found a way to shine.
Losers
Entire Illinois offensive line
This Illinois offensive line has been going through it this season. Losing guard after guard, Illinois ended up having to turn to Eddie Tuerk midway through the game when Champ Smith, who was already further down the depth chart at the start of the season, went down with an injury.
The line didn't do a great job keeping quarterback Katin Houser clean, allowing three sacks, and let's face it, Houser was running for his life at times. Ultimately, this group will just have to work to get healthy, something that will only get fixed with time.
Bobby Hauck
This has to come at no surprise to see Bobby Hauck on the losers list for the second time this season. When Ohio State drops 42 points, 28 of them coming from Jeremiah Smith alone, and no real adjustments were made, the blame has to fall on Hauck.
I get it, Hauck's 3-3-5 scheme worked well at Montana State, but this isn't Montana State; this is Illinois and Big Ten football, and clearly it isn't working. The struggles with tackling and getting pressure on the quarterback are becoming too big to overcome, and it just puts more pressure on the offense to put up big numbers.
Brayden Trimble
Brayden Trimble did show up more against Ohio State, especially with the Buckeyes doing a good job of keeping Dixon in check, but with only four receptions for 28 yards, it is hard not to put him on the losers list. Granted, some of the missed catches weren't completely on Trimble. In the second quarter, Trimble would have had a walk-in touchdown if Houser had hit him on a wide-open route.
Trimble is still a young pass-catcher, and with Dixon and Clement ahead of him, and even the return of Jayshon Platt looming, he will probably fall in the pecking order. On the flip side, though, he has gotten some good experience on the field and has a lot of room to grow in this receiving room.
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