From the opening kickoff, the Illinois football team didn’t look like we could keep up with Ohio State.
Surprisingly, the Illini defense was able to hold Ohio State to just a field goal on their first drive of the game. This was a huge win for the program, but mistakes started to snowball after that.
Illinois’ first offensive possession of the game put us behind the eight ball. A drive that could have helped put the Orange and Blue on the right track got us on the wrong track. Luke Altmyer’s pass was tipped, and Ohio State picked it off.
The thing is, Illinois obviously can’t give up turnovers, but moreover, we need to win the turnover battle. The first half has the Illini down -2 in the turnover battle. That isn’t going to cut it. We need to force an Ohio State turnover in the second half to get things rolling.
It wasn’t just the tipped interception either. Illinois essentially had a turnover on special team’s as well.
Illinois’ long snapper Lane Hansen was out, so Patrick Mahoney III was in the game. He had a low snap to punter Keelan Crimmins. Crimmins tried to pick the ball up but had a knee down. This gave Ohio State the ball at the Illinois 38-yard line.
With less than seven minutes to go in the first half, Illinois once again had a chance to get the deficit down to a one-score game. The result of the drive was a fumble deep into our territory.
Errors like that are what will doom us in the end. Illinois doesn’t have the talent of Ohio State. They could put their second string out there and compete at a high level. So, giving the ball away that easily will make us lose by double-digit points.
The second half needs to be better. The errors can’t keep happening. Illinois can knock Ohio State off if we just tighten things up and play the football we played against USC.