Coming into the game on Saturday, the Illinois football program was a massive underdog against Ohio State.
The betting line was nearly four full touchdowns in favor of the Buckeyes. What the Illini needed to do was come out of the gates and put a hurting on Ohio State. We needed to show them that the Orange and Blue came to play.
What happened instead? Ohio State went on a 75-yard drive that took 5:26 off the game clock and put up seven points to start the contest.
I was hoping the Illini defense would come out of the gates strong. There has been so much bad press about the program on that side of the ball. Defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck had a chance to change, or at least delay, the narrative that Illinois couldn’t keep up with the Buckeyes.
None of that came true. Illinois was able to slow down the run up the middle a little bit, but Julian Sayin was slinging the ball all around the field.
The biggest heartbreaker was the fact that Jeremiah Smith was able to go wild on the opening drive. He already has two receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. This included a 31-yard route toward the sidelines when no Illinois defender was within 10 yards of him.
Let me remind you: Smith is the best wide receiver on the Buckeyes roster, and he might end up winning the Heisman Trophy. Yet, Illinois is losing him in what looked like a soft zone defense.
Illinois football has to get right on defense quickly or this could be a blowout by halftime
This isn’t hyperbole. Illinois could easily be down by 30 points when halftime rolls around if something doesn’t change.
That opening drive by Ohio State was exactly what the Illini didn’t need. We needed to see some type of stop, but we let them score pretty easily. That is likely the start of what could end up being a snowball effect.
Illinois is now relying on Katin Houser. He can’t just have a good game. He needs to have a game that blows the doors off the country. I am saying Houser needs to go for 500 yards and five touchdowns if the Illini want a chance to keep this game close.
This was the worst start possible for the Illini. Bielema needs to question what is happening on the defense before a bowl game slips away.
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